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.