Geophysical
Investigations at a Potential Mass Grave Site in Bethlehem,
PA
Messler,
Charles, Sherrod, Laura,and Higgins, James, 2011,
Geophysical Investigations at a Potential Mass Grave Site in
Bethlehem,
PA [abs]: Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to
Engineering and
Environmental Problems - Charleston, South Carolina (10-14
April 2011).
During
the
winter
of 1918-19 there was an outbreak of Spanish influenza in
Bethlehem, PA. The city was based around the steel industry and had
seen a large surge in production and therefore population during the
First World War. The outbreak is documented to have claimed nearly
two
hundred lives, although the accuracy of this number has been
questioned
by some. Those hardest hit were the poor working class. This group
of
immigrant workers had few or no relatives living in the area, and
thus
no one available to make funeral arrangements. The task was
appointed
to the city, or done through the church of the deceased. Records
from
this time period are incomplete, but there is evidence that suggests
a
mass burial during the epidemic on South Mountain in Bethlehem.
Geophysical surveying (GPR and magnetometer) was performed in the
summer of 2010 at St. Michael's Cemetery located in South Bethlehem,
Lehigh County Pennsylvania. The section of the cemetery surveyed is
19m
by 13m and located on the south end of the cemetery. The land was
used
by St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church from the mid 19th through the
early 20th centuries. The area surveyed is of particular interest
because of the time period in which it was used. Grave markers show
that a large number of burials took place during the Spanish
Influenza
Outbreak of 1918-19. The terrain is sloped and marked by many
physical
obstructions. Due to vandalism, topography, and vegetation many of
the
grave markers are broken, shifted, or completely missing. A three
dimensional dataset was created to image the subsurface burials.