Taphophilia.(dot) Com - Input wanted on handling of 18th-century remains

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Input wanted on handling of 18th-century remains

Written by DeadGirl
Wednesday, 19 May 2004
By Nancy Cicco PORTSMOUTH - State archeologist Richard Boisvert will decide how best to treat the remains of African descendants exhumed from what experts believe was a city burial ground dating from 1705. And heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s looking for help in that endeavor. The city will host a public meeting on Thursday, June 3, to discuss what should be done with the historic remains. The meeting will get under way at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall. "This is an unusual situation and one that requires sensitive treatment," Boisvert said in a prepared statement. "State regulations require that I decide what shall become of the remains if no descendants can be found." Construction crews working on the cityÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Court Street renovation project last October unearthed 13 coffins near the corner of Court and Chestnut streets. Eight of the coffins were exhumed for study. After analyzing historic records, artifacts, the skeletal remains and DNA samples, experts have concluded that the site was a "Negro Burial Ground," identified on a 1705 city map. In accordance with New Hampshire regulations on unmarked burials, it falls to Boisvert to determine what should be done with the remains. He, in turn, is bringing that question to the public. "A situation with an urban cemetery, one with this antiquity ... IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve not dealt with that before," he said in an interview on Tuesday. "This cemetery represents much of the information we may glean from the slave population in Portsmouth at that time." To date, no descendants of the skeletal remains have been identified, although DNA testing on the remains is being conducted in the hope individuals may yet be found. Specifically, Boisvert is looking for guidance from members of the black community about what to do with the remains. "This is something I feel needs to go back to the African-American community on the Seacoast," he said. Boisvert will moderate the June 3 meeting, at which experts working on the project will describe their findings to date. http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/05192004/news/16798.htm

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries