Archaeologists Find At Least 7 Grave Shafts So Far In Latest Excavation

Archaeologists looking for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre at Oaklawn Cemetery found about 30 makeshift markers this week. 

The City of Tulsa said archeologists found seven grave shafts and 3 partial grave shafts. 

Their focus is near the "Clyde Eddy" area. Eddy was 10 years old when he witnessed digging in this area of the cemetery and saw black victims in several wooden crates. 

Related: Third Excavation In Oaklawn Starts In Ongoing Search For Race Massacre Victims

Archaeologists said they found 27 markers in four parallel rows and part of a fifth. Those markers include 16 bricks standing upright in the ground, 10 metal markers, and another made of stone. 

Dr. Kary Stackelbeck said they are all placed about three feet apart. 

“That’s what we’re in the process of doing today, is cutting our deeper trenches so that we can get down to a level and expose whether or not we have grave shafts directly in line that correlate with those markers,” she said. 

Stackelbeck said while the team works, the late Kavin Ross is on everyone's mind. 

He served as the Chair of the Public Oversight Committee for the investigation and was on the ground, working side-by-side with archeologists every step of the way. 

“This latest location that we’re investigating now – we’re here in part because some of the information that he helped to provide to us that really helped us make a solid argument for why we felt like this was a good candidate for additional investigation,” Stackelbeck said. “So, and he has a legacy that just can’t be overstated.” 

The rest of the team, including those who work in the forensic lab, will be in Tulsa next week. Scientists expect to be out here for the rest of the month.