Rich coffin furniture uncovered near Milton
Ornately decorated lids, well preserved coffin linings - but few bones; these are just a few of the surprises uncovered during the first week of a major dig at a disused Milton cemetery in south Otago, where bodies are being exhumed for identification.
Bio-archaeologist Hallie Buckley, in charge of the St John’s Burial Ground project with associate professor Peter Petchey, said the dig had started in a farm paddock on the cemetery’s western boundary last week. Within a day, the team had uncovered three burials, and nine by day two.
Two were infants, one a child and the rest adults.
While it was known from research carried out by Miltonbased community group Tokomairiro Project 60 - TP60, that the team would probably find bodies in this area of the Anglican cemetery, the richness of the ‘‘coffin furniture’’ outside the main burial area had surprised Buckley.
‘‘The preserved cloth and wood we found is in very good condition.
‘‘We’ve found beautifully decorated lids, made of pressed zinc. Even the infants’ [coffins] had special decoration.’’
The team also uncovered a man’s coffin with his name and details engraved on a tin coffin plaque, dating from the 1870s.
‘‘This was really unexpected and immensely exciting.
‘‘It exceeded expectation in regards to the coffin furniture. ‘‘
His name would be released, once his descendants had been contacted, she said.
His grave raised questions that would help paint a fuller picture of the area’s social and cultural history, such as whether or not it was only the well-off who could afford such ornamentation or if this was the norm for most people who died and were buried in that era.
Rich in coffin furniture, the graves so far had been relatively poor in recoverable bones, with just one skeleton showing good preservation.
Buckley put this down to a high and fluctuating water table, along with high soil acidity, which were not ideal conditions for bone preservation.
However, the analysis of teeth could help identify the person, based on the information provided by the TP60. Interested locals had been stopping by the dig, but under Ministry of Health regulations for private exhumations, only people with a family connection to the cemetery were permitted to enter, Buckley said.
Results from the three-week dig, in which the team hoped to exhume 20 to 30 skeletons from unmarked graves that had lost their headstones, would be announced publicly in the next few months.
TP60 member Kath Croy, also playing ‘‘camp mother’’ for the student archaeological team, said being involved in such a project was like ‘‘a dream come true’’.
Her own great-grandparents, John and Elizabeth Finch, are buried in the main part of the cemetery in a well-marked grave.
‘‘I never dreamed I’d be doing something like this next to my great-grandparents.’’
She likened it to the British TV series Time Team.
‘‘I’d watched the show, so I was prepared for what we’d see.
‘‘People get the impression of it [the exhumations] being graphic, but it’s not at all. It’s also very respectful.’’
Work will continue on the cemetery’s north-western side this week.