The way archaeological research was conducted at the Godet Burial Ground is what we want to prevent from happening at the Golden Rock Burial Ground now and other archaeological African heritage sites in the future.
The burial ground of the former Godet Plantation is situated at the West coast of St. Eustatius. From historical records is known that behind the walls of Fort Amsterdam (or the Waterfort) stood the ‘slave house.’ This slave depot was where the enslaved Africans were put when they arrived on St. Eustatius and where they awaited being auctioned. This was in the mid 1700’s.
This location is of great historical importance to the people of St. Eustatius. The site is however one of the most critically endangered locations of the island because of the aggressive erosion taking place here – which has even resulted in a “mini cliff” that wasn’t there before they built the new pier.
The first archaeological investigations were conducted in October/November 2012 by Joost Morsink when rescue excavations of eroding burials were undertaken. The St. Eustatius Monuments Foundation or Historical Foundation had not been informed. If the St. Eustatius government was informed is unclear.
The remains of over 20 individuals were excavated on the site of the slave burial ground, but this was not communicated to the people of St. Eustatius – or to their peer groups on the island (the Historical and Monuments Foundations). How many skeletons were found exactly is difficult to find out, because the archaeologists have not communicated about this excavation.
Repeated requests from their peer heritage organizations for information of what they were doing with the remains and where they were kept and what the plans for them were, were ignored.
After the passing of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, human bones were now literally sticking out of the new side of the mini cliff.
In 2018, after the Dutch take-over, students from universities across the United States conducted field work at the Godet site in a collaboration between Texas State University and the St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research (SECAR). This was part of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Still, nothing about this research into the ancestors of the people of St. Eustatius was communicated to the people in St. Eustatius themselves.
The concerns of the other heritage organizations were shared with the Culture Department of the St. Eustatius government who agreed that absence of information was not an option. A formal request for information was sent, but again to no avail.
Archaeology on the site is still continuing at present. But we still don’t know what has happened with the human remains.
Observations from the St. Eustatius Monuments foundation
The remains at Fort Amsterdam/Godet were critically at risk. So it can be argued that they needed to be rescued. Excavation is then an option. But since they are human remains, one has be open and transparent and most of all: respectful. Instead, the archaeologists refuse to say even where the remains are.
The remains are on private property and the site can not be properly fenced off. It can be argues therefore that no publicity should be given to the excavation so as not to encourage treasure hunters.
However, the requests for information were from peer organizations of SECAR. These organizations can understand such arguments and respect them when the information is shared.
If there is nothing inappropriate going on, then why not share the information and prove that everything is done properly and respectfully. Now, there is no way of knowing. The other heritage organizations have a role to play as watchdogs of the history and heritage of St. Eustatius.
The St. Eustatius Monuments Foundation was founded in 1990 for the protection, renovation and reconstruction of all the cultural goods on the island of St. Eustatius.
Summary: "The remains from the Godet Cemetery were excavated from 2012-2019. Many remains recovered from the site were at risk of eroding into the ocean. The cemetery’s precarious placement on a cliffside eroding into the Caribbean Sea caused most, if not all, of the burials to be fragmentary in nature. A biological profile of the remains recovered from the cemetery was completed by Dr. Ashley McKeown at Texas State University. Additional biological and enamel isotopic analysis has also been completed by Felicia Fricke from the University of Kent (Felicia Fricke, Personal Communication 2019)."
Fricke, F.J. 2020 Forced Migration and the Skeletal Record at Fort Amsterdam Depot, St Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean Felicia J. Fricke (Classical and Archaeological Studies, University of Kent) and Jason E. Laffoon (Archaeological Sciences, Leiden University).
McCarthy Melissa B.R. 2019 Dental Health and Activity Indicators in the Burials from the Godet Cemetery
Morsink, J. 2012 Archaeological Assessment Godet/Fort Amsterdam Cemetery (SE 600) St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands. SECAR. 1-47 [Not availabe at SECAR's website]
2017 Godet Property 2016 Archaeological Investigations. Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Project. SE-11014/16P3413. [Not availabe at SECAR's website]
Tucker, Sydney
2019 Dating the Dead: A Temporal and Demographic Analysis of the Godet Cemetery of Sint Eustatius. Poster Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
Wanstead, Chelsea and Melinda V. Rogers
2019 Ancestry Estimation through Dental Morphology for the Godet Cemetery. Poster Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
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