Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey and spatial analysis of the George and Addie Giddens Cemetery, Opelika, Alabama

ABSTRACT

Interest in locating and preserving the cemeteries of enslaved African Americans has increased the need for new methodologies coupled with efficient, noninvasive geophysical techniques, such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The southeast United States, where many of such sites are located, provides many challenges to using GPR due to its humid climate and abundant vegetation, which deteriorates burial remains, disguises burial shafts, and forms physical obstacles to GPR surveys. These challenges make it difficult for GPR alone to locate caskets or burial shafts. To address these issues, this study uses GPR combined with an innovative spatial and observational methodology to locate burials in a humid climate and determine their burial conditions. These mixed methods led to the location of 129 potential graves. Knowing the spatial distribution of burial features provides a context for analyzing the relative burial ages and decay rates within the cemetery site.

KEYWORDS:

• Ground-penetrating radar
• Opelika, Alabama
• cemetery
• spatial analysis
• quantitative analysis
• unmarked burials

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Robert Bubb, PhD, from the Auburn University Department of Human Development and Family Studies for facilitating access to the research site and providing invaluable information about the Giddens family. We also would like to acknowledge the Research to Preserve African American Stories and Traditions (RPAAST) and the Lee County Cemetery Preservation Commission for their ongoing work to preserve and protect cemeteries. Finally we appreciate Dr. Peter Leach of Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc., for sharing his expertise in archaeological applications of GPR.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The GPR data files are preserved on Auburn University servers. These files will be shared on a case-by-case basis by request. Contact the corresponding author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hayden Malloch

Hayden Malloch is a staff geoscientist with Thomas Harder & Company. He conducted this work as a part of his masters of science in geology in the Department of Geosciences at Auburn University.

Stephanie L. Shepherd

Stephanie L. Shepherd is an associate professor of geomorphology in the Department of Geosciences at Auburn University. In addition to her research in fluvial geomorphology, specifically how heterogeneous lithology controls fluvial form and process, she applies geomorphic and geophysical methods to study and preserve African American cemeteries.

Lorraine Wolf

Lorraine Wolf is a Lawrence C. Wit Endowed Emerita Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Geosciences at Auburn University. Her research focused on earthquake hazards and applications of near-surface geophysical methods to environmental and engineering problems.

Meghan Buchanan

Meghan Buchanan is an associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Auburn University. Her research interests include Mississippian societies, conflict and warfare, sociopolitical collapse and resilience, and collections management and curation.