SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) -Savannah city leaders have partnered with an archaeological team this week to search for possible human remains beneath Whitefield Square, where enslaved and free people of color were buried in the 1700s and 1800s.
Archaeologists with the Lamar Institute are surveying the square using ground-penetrating radar to determine what remains below the surface. The technology sends microwave beams into the ground and waits for signals that bounce back, according to Daniel Thornton-Elliott of the Lamar Institute.
“We’re looking for dead folks,” Thornton-Elliott said.
Historical questions about burial ground
Whitefield Square, one of the last squares laid out in Savannah, served as a primary burial ground for African Americans in the 1700s and 1800s. Conflicting records have left questions about whether remains were ever moved or if many still rest below…