IUP Anthropology faculty, alumni, and students partnered with the Pennsylvania Archaeology Council and Friends of Midland to record graves within the historic African American Midland Cemetery on October 30.
Midland Cemetery, located near Harrisburg, was founded in 1795 and contains the graves of many leaders in the region's African American community, as well as US Colored Troops, Buffalo Soldiers, and enslaved individuals. Friends of Midland have worked for many years to preserve and interpret the cemetery. Through the Pennsylvania Archaeology Council, Ben Ford and several students helped organize more than 30 volunteers to record the hundreds markers within the cemetery. Volunteers included professional archaeologists, students, and community members who worked in teams to record the location (GPS) and attributes of each marker, as well as photograph it. These data will be compiled by IUP students and then used by Friends of Midland as a foundation for future interpretation and preservation for the cemetery.
This was a great day of community archaeology and it was amazing how much data was collected in just one day with some many people working together.
Anthropology Department