HANOVER, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) – Archeologists are enlisting the help of a “barkeologist” named Abby to identify unmarked graves in Virginia.
Abby is a six-year-old chocolate lab trained to sniff out centuries-old human remains.
The National Park Service hired Abby through Martin Archaeology Consulting to help locate a hidden cemetery at Richmond National Battlefield Park.
The owner and principal archeologist of the company, Paul Martin, travels all over the country with Abby doing this sort of work.
“She is well-traveled,” Martin said. “She is really my fourth dog to kind of specialize in the older archeological human remains detection.”
The property in Hanover, also known as Rural Plains, is a 125-acre farm that belonged to the Shelton family for 300 years.
“A lot of history,” Richmond National Battlefield archeologist Lexie Lowe said. “It’s alleged that in the front room on the first floor of this house, Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton.”
Archeologists believe enslaved people who worked for the family are buried on the land, but they do not know exactly where, or how many.
“We’re looking for unmarked cemeteries that could be associated with the enslaved people that lived here and worked here on the Shelton plantation,” Lowe said.
It takes a particular approach to cover so much ground.
“We’re always looking for creative and innovative ways to do the work that we need to do, especially when you’re covering large areas of land,” Lowe said.
Abby is specially trained.
“She’s actually searching for odor that’s being emitted from chemical compounds produced during the decomposition process,” Martin said. “We have had success locating remains dating up to 2,000 years old here in the southeast United States.”
When Abby marks a scent, she sits on the spot, and Martin records the GPS data.
Abby is then paid with praise and treats, as well as her favorite squeaky duck.
“We came in with ground penetrating radar, and have collected that, processed it, and it does appear that they have located some burials,” Martin said.
The duo are on their second visit to Richmond National Battlefield since last summer and are using more technology to pinpoint their findings.
“We’re going to record that with an RTK GPS system that will give us accuracy down to two centimeters,” Martin said.
“We’re very excited to see what data Paul’s able to provide us and how that can set us up down the road to do more in-depth research, genealogical history of the folks that lived here and worked here, and down the road, how we can interpret these landscapes better because these are sacred spaces,” Lowe said.
The National Park Service says once the unmarked graves are identified, the plan is to protect and honor the space. There will not be any excavations.
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