By Joseph A. Downer
Hallowed Ground, Sacred Place: The Slave Cemetery At George Washington’s Mount Vernon And The Cultural Landscapes Of The Enslaved
This thesis focuses on the archaeological study of the Slave Cemetery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Here, methodological and theoretical principles are utilized to study the area that many enslaved workers call their final resting place. Through the use of this space, it is hypothesized that Mount Vernon’s enslaved community practiced distinct traditions, instilling in that spot a sense of place, and reinforcing their individual and communal human identities. This thesis will also investigate the cemetery within its broader regional and cultural contexts, to attain a better understanding of the death rituals and culturally resistant activates that slaves at Mount Vernon used in their day-to-day battle against the system that held them in bondage.
View Research PaperResearch Design Slave Cemetery
This report details previous research on the Slave Cemetery site and the goals, questions, and archaeological methods for the excavation project.
View Research PaperExcavations in the Slave Cemetery
View photos from the archaeological survey at the Slave Cemetery at Mount Vernon.
A glass inlay for a sleeve button, decorated with a coral branch, excavated during the Slave Cemetery Survey. The inlay is almost identical to one exc...
A bouquet of flowers marks an individual burial uncovered during the Slave Cemetery Survey.
Crew Chief Joe Downer explains the goals of the Slave Cemetery Survey to the public while Leah Stricker uncovers a burial.
Mount Vernon archaeologists and volunteers excavate during the Slave Cemetery Survey.
Volunteers display prehistoric artifacts excavated during the Slave Cemetery Survey.
Volunteers screen for artifacts.
Visitors look on at a row of grave shafts uncovered during the Slave Cemetery Survey.
Students excavate and interpret to the public as part of the University of Maryland/ Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Field School.
A row of graves uncovered during the Slave Cemetery Survey.
A row of graves uncovered during the Slave Cemetery Survey.
Mount Vernon archaeologist Leah Stricker uncovering burials.
Bouquets of flowers mark individual burials uncovered during the Slave Cemetery Survey with the Potomac River visible in the background.