Resting in Meaning: Symbolism from St. Henry’s Cemetery (11S1742), East St. Louis, IL, 1866–1908

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

St. Henry’s Catholic Cemetery (11S1742), located in East St. Louis, IL, was in use between 1866 and 1908 and mainly served the surrounding German and Irish communities. Despite repeated claims of full relocation since its closure, the presence of burials on site has been debated. However, recent excavations reveal a likely large number of burials were abandoned and persist today. During Phase III excavations, biological data, incidental, mortuary, and cultural artifacts were analyzed from 32 burials exhumed between November 2021 and February 2022. St. Henry’s Cemetery was active during the Victorian Beautification of Death movement, where mortuary symbolism was deliberate and meaningful. Examining the affiliated funerary objects from the 32 excavated burials, different motifs expressed throughout mortuary and cultural artifacts are explored. A variety of catholic iconography is represented by different floral, plant, bird, cross, geometric design, crown, anchor, flame, scroll, etc., motifs. These motifs will be used to better understand the possible meanings they inspire, how they may relate to the decedent and their families, and possibly show how they wanted to be represented in both life and the afterlife.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36805.0