"A Historic Place of Peace and Reflection": A Critical Analysis of Digital Methods in the Recovery of Forgotten Black Cemeteries

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Living and the Dead: New Interpretations of Above- and Below-Ground Cultural Historical Archaeology", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Digital technology can be a useful tool for archaeologists to digitally preserve the current state of mortuary landscapes and can also be a useful tool for public engagement to raise awareness about these marginalized sites, their histories, and the environmental dangers they face.This paper focuses on the case study of Mount Carmel Cemetery, a historic Black cemetery located in Pasco County, Florida. Through the combination of digital tools and documentary sources, ten gravestones in various conditions were identified and digitized as well as the remains of a wooden structure and memorial plaque resulting in the production of digital images, 3D models, and updated site maps of the cemetery, and historical vignettes of individuals. I argue that only by combining and contextualizing digital images with historical contexts and the stories of individuals connected with the cemetery can the digital data be made truly productive towards the work of historical recovery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Living and the Dead: New Interpretations of Above- and Below-Ground Cultural Historical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow