Alexandria Archaeology Completes Test Excavations at

Site of Graves of Former Slaves

ALEXANDRIA, VA – City of Alexandria Archaeologists have completed preliminary test excavations at the site of Freedmen’s Cemetery on South Washington Street in preparation for the City’s acquisition of the land. Once acquired, a memorial park will be built on the site to honor those 1,800 freed men, women, and children who were buried there between 1864 and 1869. The test excavations were necessary to determine what steps are needed to protect the graves during demolition of the existing structures on the site (a gas station and office building), asphalt removal, and design and construction of the memorial park. The archaeology test excavations meet environmental legal requirements which now allow the acquisition to move forward.

Freedmen’s Cemetery Memorial Park is a project the City of Alexandria is undertaking with the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project (WWBP). The City’s recent excavation occurred on the southern and western perimeters of the "core area" of the cemetery, which has been developed over the last 50 years as a gas station and office building. These excavations showed that more than 80 graves still survive overlooking the beltway and under South Washington Street east of the developed part of the site.

Fourteen trenches were opened across the developed part of the site to determine if graves remain and how far underground they are located. The complicated history of the site made it difficult to predict whether graves would be deep and covered by a great deal of fill, lost due to stripping of the soil, or disturbed due to overturning during construction of the buildings. Forty-five grave shafts were discovered, most of them only inches below the asphalt. The excavations confirm that the cemetery was established on this site and that strong protection measures must be taken during demolition, design and park construction. Some trenches, however, show deep fill, indicating the site has had radical changes in its topography from the 1864-1869 period.

Prior to this investigation, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project completed a geophysical survey in 1998 of the site and an additional study from 1998-2000, which better defined the boundaries of Freedmen’s Cemetery prior to the start of construction on the Washington Street Beltway Overpass, or urban deck, and associated roadways.

These results give opportunities for design of appropriate commemorative sculptures, walkways and landscaping. Additional archaeology will be done in conjunction with demolition and prior to design and construction of the park.

The Alexandria Archaeology Museum is dedicated to preserving and studying Alexandria’s rich archaeological heritage and fostering within citizens and visitors a connection between the past and present while inspiring a sense of stewardship and adventure. The Museum is located in the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 North Union Street, Suite #327, in Old Town Alexandria, and is owned and operated by the City of Alexandria. For more information, call 703.838.4399.