Work crews unearthed a deteriorated coffin from a Portsmouth street that an old map identifies as a burial ground for blacks in the 1700s.

Archaeologists said there could be as many as six wooden caskets buried at the Chestnut Street site, shown on a map from 1705. The city's theater, The Music Hall, is nearby. "We know Portsmouth had segregation in death as it did in life," said Mark Sammons, vice president of the Black Heritage Trail and co-author of Black Portsmouth. "So we knew if the burial grounds spilled out, they would run into something. But digging for it was not in the original plan."

Sammons said he is unsure whether the burial ground actually existed or was just a plan. He said other documents from 1760 verify that a burial ground did exist.

But by 1813, maps of Chestnut Street showed a development, not a gravesite.

The coffin was found Tuesday as workers from the city and Gove Construction were doing excavation work at the intersection of Court and Chestnut streets for a new sewer line.

City officials worked with archaeologists to conduct test digs in the area before starting the construction project, but they found nothing.

"Possibly we didn't go deep enough," said Steve Parkinson of the Department of Public Works. "This appears to be undisturbed soil below where we were."

The base of the coffin, a long wooden board covered with dark earth, roots and rocks, was at the bottom of an 8-foot hole.

City Manager John Bohenko said that while construction on Court Street will continue, the area where the remains were found will be secured.

The city and state are working to remove the remains while preserving their archaeological value and according them due respect.

Sally Strazdins, an archaeological volunteer at Strawbery Banke Museum, sifted through the excavated pile looking for what remained of the top portion of the coffin. She found some wood and small pieces of bone.

"The environment is so waterlogged, and it really doesn't preserve the bone at all," Strazdins said. "But the wood has been preserved because it's been waterlogged. It keeps oxygen from getting to it."

Once the state archaeologist has had an opportunity to further examine the remains, a notice will be published seeking input with regard to discovering any potential next of kin for the remains.

"We hope to find a respectful, appropriate way to bring the remains up and try to understand what they mean," said Valerie Cunningham, president of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail.

Mark Pruett, who works downtown, said he walks along Chestnut Street every day.

"I was walking over a gravesite every day, and I didn't even know it," he said. "It wasn't marked, which is really sad. Maybe it's a sign of the times that they didn't mark it. But it's good that they're respecting it now. It's good they're giving it the respect it deserves."

http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/state2003/100903coffin_2003.shtml