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The Avondale Burial Place: A Georgia Section 106 Success Story

 

Location: Georgia, USA       Length: 16 min.

The Avondale Burial place is an unmarked and forgotten African American burial ground encountered by the Georgia Department of Transportation during planning for a road extension.  Identification of grave locations involved many techniques, from ground penetrating radar to forensic dogs.  Because the cemetery was unavoidable, GDOT sponsored the archaeological recovery and relocation of the remains of 101 individuals.  Genealogical research and DNA identified members of the descendant community who had left as part of the Great Migration.

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Produced in 2016 by the Federal Highway Administration, Georgia Department of Transportation and New South Associates

Copyright 2016 by the Federal Highway Administration, Georgia Department of Transportation and New South Associates

Avondale Burial Place (New South Associates)

Avondale Burial Place Brochure (Georgia Department of Transportation)

Georgia History: Overview (New Georgia Encyclopedia)

Hold Your Light on Canaan’s Shore: A Historical and Archaeological Investigation of the Avondale Burial Place (9BI164); Volume 1: Report of Investigation, Bibb County, Georgia (new South Associates)

Rediscovery of 19th Century Slave Cemetery Leads to Reunion (Advisory Council on Historic Preservation)