Osteological Evidence from a Civil War–Era Grave and Surgeon’s Pit in Colonial Williamsburg

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Individuals Known and Unknown: Case Studies from Two Burial Contexts at Colonial Williamsburg" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this paper, we report on the study of human skeletal remains recently discovered near a powder magazine in Williamsburg, VA, the site of a mass Confederate grave. Osteological analysis of four discrete burials and additional remains recovered from a nearby surgeon’s pit indicates that these individuals likely served as soldiers. The four individuals were identified as males ranging in age from the mid-teens to the mid-thirties. One individual exhibits an extreme degree of robusticity while two others present with gunshot wounds. Our findings are consistent with documentary accounts of medical knowledge and practices of the day. For example, the lack of “false starts” and small size of the “terminal snaps” observed for amputated leg bones recovered from the surgeon’s pit indicates a high level of technical expertise. Additionally, the cutting of healthy bone (evidenced by lack of periosteal reaction) suggests that amputation occurred relatively quickly following a diagnosis of infection so as to avoid its spread throughout the body. These findings and the results of isotopic analysis will inform the proper and respectful reburial of these individuals while also contributing to an expanding social bioarcheology of violence. ***This presentation will include images of human remains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Individuals Known and Unknown: Case Studies from Two Burial Contexts at Colonial Williamsburg   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41654.0