14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)

14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)
In this photo provided by the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, the remains of 14 slaves are transferred to awaiting pallbearers for reinterment at St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, June 18, 2016. Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany. (Jonathan Cohen/Albany Diocesan Cemeteries via AP)

The long-forgotten remains of 14 slaves discovered more than a decade ago in upstate New York have been reburied.

Albany Diocesan Cemeteries' spokesman Jonathan Cohen says Saturday the ceremony included prayers from a Ghanaian priestess, an imam and others.

Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany.

No personal items from the graves were exhumed. But experts believe they were slaves buried in the 18th or early 19th centuries.

A local group called the Schuyler Flatts Burial Ground Project wanted to make sure the seven adults, five infants and two children are never forgotten again.

Cohen says there was a feeling of fellowship among the roughly 300 people who attended the burial at a nearby cemetery.

  • 14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)
    In this photo provided by the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, pallbearers carry the remains of 14 slaves to awaiting graves at St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, June 18, 2016. Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany. (Jonathan Cohen/Albany Diocesan Cemeteries via AP)
  • 14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)
    In this photo provided by the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, a pallbearer carries some of the the remains of 14 slaves to an awaiting grave at St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, June 18, 2016. Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany. (Jonathan Cohen/Albany Diocesan Cemeteries via AP)
  • 14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)
    In this photo provided by the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, Vodun priestess, left, leads a choir in song during a funeral for 14 slaves at St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, June 18, 2016. Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany. (Jonathan Cohen/Albany Diocesan Cemeteries via AP)
  • 14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)
    In this photo provided by the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, small coffins bearing the remains of 14 slaves are lined up prior to burial at St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, June 18, 2016. Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany. (Jonathan Cohen/Albany Diocesan Cemeteries via AP)
  • 14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update)
    In this photo provided by the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, people at St. Agnes Cemetery stand behind two rows of small caskets bearing the remains of 14 slaves prior to them being reburied, Saturday, June 18, 2016 in Albany, N.Y. Archeologists found the remains in 2005 after a backhoe operator uncovered a skull during sewer construction just north of Albany. (Jonathan Cohen/Albany Diocesan Cemeteries via AP)

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Citation: 14 long-forgotten slave remains reburied in NY ceremony (Update) (2016, June 18) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2016-06-long-forgotten-slave-reburied-ny-ceremony.html
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