Sunday, August 19, 2007

Relocation project for centuries-old graves found in Cranston continue
As the state continues to work on plans for the reburial of remains found in old graves that were exposed by erosion alongside Route 37 in the Sockanosset Cross Road area last year, examination of the bones has given archaeologist more insight into the lives of those who died at the State Farm at the turn of the 20th century.

Yesterday, state Department of Transportation spokesman Charles St. Martin reviewed some of the personal possessions that were recovered when archaeologists examined the remains of 67 men, women and children and painstakingly combed through the shreds of their pine coffins.

Buttons, hair combs, a key, a pair of wedding rings, false teeth, and the remnant of a ruffle from a long skirt were carefully laid out on a long table at Public Archaeology Lab (PAL) Inc., the Pawtucket firm that has been working on the recovery project with DOT archaeologist Michael Hebert.


I usually don't link to this recent of stories, but I've taken a fancy to cemetery archaeology, and it's kind of a neat article.