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Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, a professor of archaeology at Wittenberg, said she was approached by Kevin Rose, a historian from the Turner Foundation, to help shed some light on the often forgotten site.
“I was approached by Kevin Rose because he’s a Wittenberg grad and he knows about the work that I’ve done,” she said. “This was a perfect opportunity because it’s a public space and it allows people to learn about archaeology.”
Hedstrom said the work her group has been doing is based around a summer course and has students perform field and lab work to get a better grasp on what may have happened in the city’s past and give them some hands-on experience.
The project, which has been going on for several weeks, have unearthed some interesting finds, including remains of headstones from soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and possibly someone who took part in the Boston Tea Party.
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Caitlin Lobl, a Wittenberg graduate, said people participating in the dig aren’t working to disturb the remains that have been left behind.
“We’re not digging up the bodies — we’re digging around them,” she said. “We’re trying to uncover some goods that were left behind to remember these people by.”
Other artifacts have also been found during the dig, which were presented during the Chamber of Greater Springfield’s First Friday event on June 1.
Hedstrom said the field work and archival research the students are doing are important to help provide more information about the city’s history, but it also gives the public a way to learn more about archaeology as a whole and appreciate some of the work that they do.
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“This cemetery provides a lot of visibility for archaeology and for people to learn about it,” she said. “I think by our presence, we’ll help bring recognition to the first cemetery in Springfield and it’ll also allow the Turner Foundation to bring the public into the preservation and appreciation of Springfield in a much more creative way than has been done previously.”