Possible Slave Graves Found at Thomas Jefferson’s Home

For the first time, archeologists have unearthed what they believe to be a cemetery of slaves owned by Thomas Jefferson and buried outside the home of the third president.

The burial plots were found on the grounds of Monticello, said Daniel Jordan, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and manages the 5,000-acre estate.

“It’s been a long-standing goal . . . to determine where slaves were buried, and we believe we have now found one such location,” Jordan said Tuesday.

From 1783 to Jefferson’s death on July 4, 1826, between 90 and 140 slaves lived at Monticello at any one time, half of them children.

Archeologists believe the cemetery, located on a relatively flat tract of wooded land about 2,000 feet from the main house, holds between 40 and 110 graves.

During excavation, archeologists removed only about a foot of topsoil to identify the outlines of 20 graves. Historians believe the sites were for 10 adults and eight children; no determination could be made for the other two. The graves were not disturbed.

“We do not feel there were enough remains left to justify disturbing their sacred right to rest in peace,” Jordan said.

Some were marked by unfinished field stones, and a circle of stones enclosed the rows of graves. Because of the acidic quality of the soil, archeologists believe it is unlikely that the sites will yield any remains or artifacts.

Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was a meticulous bookkeeper, but there is no known written documentation of any burial sites or funerals for slaves.