In November 2015, construction workers building an expansion on Baldwin Hall on the campus of the University of Georgia discovered the remains of approximately 105 individuals. About one third of the remains had sufficient samples to conduct DNA analysis. The vast majority of the persons buried at the site were determined to have had mothers who were of African heritage.
David Lee, vice president for research at the University of Georgia, stated that “the university is committed to building upon the preliminary research and learning more about the lives of the men, women and children who were likely slaves or former slaves.”
The university has committed to conduct further DNA research on the remains to determine the gender of the people buried at the site and to see if any of them were related. The university will also be able to determine if any of the remains are the ancestors of people living in the area today.
