WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Archeologists Uncover Forgotten Cemetery at Hunter Army Airfield

Archeologists Uncover Forgotten Cemetery at Hunter Army Airfield

Archeologists on post at Hunter Army Airfield are uncovering a piece of forgotten history in Savannah.

Last August crews installing underground fiber optic cable unearthed some human remains. Hunter Army Airfield stopped the construction and called in some experts.

They now know those remains are part of an entire cemetery. So they are digging up two acres of land, land that until a few months ago was Billy Mitchell Road and a parking lot. The land were the cemetery is located was purchased by Hunter Army Airfield in 1952.

Now that land is the site of an archeological discovery.

Colonel Carl Coffman has been overseeing the project on his post. He said, "It's a little unusual for an army guy."

So far archeologists have found more than 40 grave sites, but they believe there could be as many as a hundred.

"These aren't just grave sites," said Col. Coffman. "These are someone's relatives, there's a history here a piece of savannah history that we just don't know yet."

Researchers know by looking at some very old maps that these grave sites date back prior to 1870. But they can't find the cemetery on any map since the 1930's. There is some indication the land once belonged to the Culver Family.

The darkened earth in the shape of a rectangle that marks the graves tells researches on a little bit about who is buried there.

Dr. Hugh Matternes with New South Associates is an archeologist working on this site. He pointed out some details he can see just by looking at the dirt. "This was an adult determent here and the smaller rectangle one is what we suspect is a child that was buried," Dr. Matternes said.

He said it could possibly a mother and her baby.

Archeologists are using all kinds of tools to uncover the grave sites. They used back hoes to remove the first two feet of dirt, then they are marking the graves using shovels.

When they uncover the remains they will use much smaller tools like a trowel and paint brush. They said they don't want to miss any detail.

Dr. Matternes said they hope to finish this project this fall. After they uncover all the remains the plan is to rebury them in an existing cemetery on post.

Their biggest challenge will be trying to identity who the remains belong to.

"Nobody knows who these folks are, but likewise these folks. they are lost in time," said Dr. Matternes.

They hope someone in the community will come forward with some answers.

"I guess one of the big thrills is being able to get to that point where you can say yes, this was your great, great, great grandmother," Dr. Matternes said.

And a piece of Savannah's history will come back to light.

Reported by Michelle Paynter, mpaynter@wtoc.com