Old African-American cemetery relocation takes slow, delicate work (Atlanta)
Jeff Gardner delicately scrapes away a century of red clay and scoops a child's bones into a casket.
The archaeologist has spent the past two months carefully sifting through dirt, trying to preserve the remains of generations of Clayton County families.
Gardner thought he was looking for 270 historic African American graves buried behind Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
He found more than 340 – and is still digging.
Gardner and his crew are moving the graves -- which date back to the mid-1800s -- from the middle of a landfill in College Park to a public cemetery in Riverdale.
Read entire article at Atlanta Journal
The archaeologist has spent the past two months carefully sifting through dirt, trying to preserve the remains of generations of Clayton County families.
Gardner thought he was looking for 270 historic African American graves buried behind Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
He found more than 340 – and is still digging.
Gardner and his crew are moving the graves -- which date back to the mid-1800s -- from the middle of a landfill in College Park to a public cemetery in Riverdale.