ACI SERVICES: CEMETERY STUDIES

Sites with human burials can require compliance with federal and state regulations. ACI’s senior staff includes physical anthropologists, historians, and archaeologists that have extensive experience in researching and identifying cemeteries. A combination of historic research, visual reconnaissance and remote sensing are used to identify, document, and record cemeteries. ACI‘s cemetery experts have been trained on Cemetery Resource Protection (CRP) and have served as expert witnesses before regulatory bodies.

Florida Statute 497 address cemetery regulations, including abandoned or inactive cemeteries, and the relocation of cemeteries. ACI is familiar with these statutes and have worked with clients and their selected representatives to assist with projects related to known cemeteries.

Cemeteries can be unmarked and found accidentally during land-altering activities. ACI’s staff is prepared to conduct on-site assessments and coordinate with federal, state, and local agencies. As necessary, our bioarchaeology team can document skeletal remains and remove or rebury remains when required. Relocation of cemeteries and burials is culturally sensitive, and ACI’s staff understands the respect that must be shown to the interred, as well as descendant communities. We advocate respectful involvement of descendent communities in the relocation process whenever possible.

With the recognition that cemeteries are sometimes forgotten, ACI works to review all possible sources to evaluate the potential for a cemetery within or adjacent to a project area. Early plat records, historic aerial photographs, and quadrangle/topographic maps are always a good start. Reviewing plantation locations and historic church locations can also provide information about potentially unmarked or forgotten cemeteries. A variety of written accounts, including the WPA cemetery search, are also reviewed. ACI works with LiDAR and GPR experts to evaluate the potential for a cemetery when necessary.