The archaeological project is part of a multi-year effort by the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to accurately count the number of people who died in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.

The newly found graves bring the total number of unmarked graves discovered at Oaklawn Cemetery to more than 40. Investigators suspect there may be many more. They say up to 300 people died in the outbreak of racial violence, according to modern estimates. However, reports from that time may have downplayed the severity of the conflict.

Kary Stackelbeck, Oklahoma state archaeologist, said the latest excavation discovered 24 unmarked graves, 21 of which were for adults located on the west side of the cemetery and the remaining three were located on the west side of the cemetery. on the south side contains child-sized coffins. Previously, 19 other graves were found during the first excavation last year.

The graves will be investigated by hand to learn more about the coffins they contain. Researchers are creating a photometric model – a technique that uses digital photography to create a detailed three-dimensional rendering – of each grave before removing anything.

“We are trying to do every step of this process as respectfully as possible,” Stackelbeck said, adding that the remains will be reburied after laboratory tests, including feces DNA accumulation, complete.

After World War I, Tulsa became known for its wealthy African-American residents. The 1921 massacre lasted two days from May 31 to June 1 and was prompted by allegations that a 19-year-old black man attacked a white female elevator operator.

Police arrested a young man named Dick Rowland. Later, armed mobs of whites and blacks clashed outside the courthouse where the youth was detained. Shootings by both sides erupted into a race riot.

The next day, the city’s prosperous Greenwood neighborhood — known as “Black Wall Street” because of its many black-owned businesses — burned to the ground and as many as 300 people were killed.

The Oklahoma state legislature established a commission in 1997 to investigate “the worst incident of racial violence in American history.” In 2001, the Oklahoma State Commission officially acknowledged the massacre and offered compensation to Tulsa’s black community.

Investigations have focused on Oaklawn Cemetery, where hundreds of victims may have been buried in unmarked graves. The latest discoveries by archaeologists on the project support the idea that many victims of the massacre were buried in secret.