Archaeology of the African Burial Ground

Archaeology of the African Burial Ground

Restricted from Christian churchyards within the city, Africans developed a burial ground consisting of a small plot of land located outside the city’s northern palisade. As the enslaved population grew, so did the Burial Ground, eventually covering five to six acres or about five present-day city blocks. Even here, harsh legal restrictions applied. No more than twelve persons were permitted in a funeral procession or at graveside services, and interment was not allowed at night, the customary time for many African burial rituals. Enslaved Africans were required to have a written pass in order to travel more than a mile away from home.

While excavating the 290 Broadway block, archaeologists found many artifacts, both in association with the burial ground and others that were from the block being used after the Burial Ground was in use.

Archaeological excavations showed the mortuary practices of enslaved Africans in colonial New York. Each excavated burial revealed individual burials, most in wooden coffins, arms folded or placed at the sides and oriented with heads to the west. Bodies were buried in shrouds, fastened with brass straight pins, and were sometimes buried with items such as coins, shells, and beads. Over time, the Burial Ground became densely crowded with burials stacked here and four deep in some places.
Below is a sampling of some of the artifacts found in association with the burials and burial ground. If you would like to learn more, please scroll down, where you will find links to all the archeological reports produced for the African Burial Ground Project.

Finger rings were found with five burials: 71, 115, 242, 310, and 398. Plain bands and two rings with settings were recovered. Two burials- 242 and 310 had identical copper-allow rings with glass insets. Both rings showed fragmentation and were fragile.

Four cast, copper-alloy buttons with gilt faces and applied loop shanks were recovered from Burial 6. These buttons had an anchor-and-rope design. One of the buttons were in excellent condition. One was recognizable, and the other two were degraded. The buttons may be associated with the British Navy, and were spaced in a line along the torso, suggesting they were fasteners. It is believed they were associated with some type of cloth, although no cloth survived.

Shroud pins were recovered from 159 different burials, and were the most common artifact recovered. Most pins were mineralized and fragmented, although one intact pin measured 2.5cm. the presence of pins implies the presence of shrouds, although not much cloth survived.

n 1991, construction began on a 34-story federal office tower positioned on 290 Broadway and overseen by the General Services Administration (GSA). Federally funded construction projects are mandated to comply with Section 106 in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. A “Stage 1A Cultural Resource Survey,” was completed in the area of Republican Alley in 1989 prior to construction. The compliance cultural research study assisted archeologists to determine any potential archeological and cultural impacts of construction on 290 Broadway.

Preliminary archeological research excavation found intact human skeletal remains located 30 feet below the city’s street level on Broadway. During survey work, the largest and most important archeological discovery was made: unearthing the “Negroes Buriel Ground”- a 6-acre burial ground containing upwards of 15,000 intact skeletal remains of enslaved and free Africans who lived and worked in colonial New York. The burial ground’s rediscovery altered the understanding and scholarship surrounding enslavement and its contribution to constructing New York City. The Burial Ground dates from the middle 1630s to 1795. Currently, the burial ground is the nation’s earliest and largest African burial ground rediscovered in the United States.

Memorialization and research of the enslaved African skeletal remains were negotiated extensively between the General Services Administration, the African American descendant community, historians, archeologists, and anthropologists, including city and state political leaders. Civic engagement led to the ancestral remains’ reinterment within the original site of rediscovery. An outdoor memorial, an interpretive center, and research library were constructed to commemorate the financial and physical contributions of enslaved Africans in colonial New York and honor their memory.

On November 4, 1993 all excavated human remains were transferred to the W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory of Howard University. A commemorative candlelight vigil, seminar, ancestral tribute and reception marked the departure from New York to Washington, D.C. In September, 2003 to October 4, 2003, the “Cradle Moving” event commenced marking the return of the ancestral remains from Washington, D.C. to the Burial Ground for reinternment. The Rites of Ancestral Return commemorative ceremony, which began with an Evening Departure Ceremony at Howard University, documented and celebrated the contribution of African Americans as the ancestral remains from the African Burial Ground were returned from Washington, D.C., to New York City. The remains were given a permanent resting-place at the African Burial Ground Memorial Site on October 4, 2003. Prior to final reinterment, each of the 419 human skeletal remains were carefully laid in their own hand-carved coffin. Celebration and ceremonies surrounded the return from Washington D.C. back to New York City in the Rites of Ancestral Return. Upon arrival at the burial ground in New York City, 60 coffins were stacked in a larger crypt, and the crypt was lowered respectfully into the ground. Seven crypts in total were lowered back into the ground, each one marked with re-burial mound. Today you may visit and pay respects to the re-interred ancestors at our exterior memorial. Flowers (no more than two flowers per person) may be left on the site, and only at the reinternment area within the outdoor grounds.The pouring of “libations” of any kind within the memorial grounds requires a permit in advance.

Archeology Reports

The Archaeology of 290 Broadway

Excavation of the site of 290 Broadway took place in compliance with Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The bulk of the African Burial Ground/290 Broadway site excavation was undertaken by Historic Conservation Inc. Later, John Milner Associates took over-excavation, producing this 4-volume set of reports presenting their descriptions and interpretations of that excavated portion of 290 Broadway not directly related to the excavated human remains.

National Parks Service