Archaeologists continue work to investigate unmarked graves at Clearwater cemetery

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Last year, ground-penetrating radar uncovered dozens of anomalies where the North Greenwood Cemetery in Clearwater once stood. In 1954, most of the graves were relocated, however, it is believed that some were left behind. Monday, crews got to work performing test excavations and core sampling with the hopes of verifying what those anomalies are.

This comes after the city spent time last year in both February and August surveying the area with ground-penetrating radar technology to confirm there were possible graves at Curtis Fundamental and Palmetto Elementary School, which has been closed for years, as well as under the parking lot across the street.  

Altogether, experts believe there could be at least 44 possible graves along Holt Avenue where the cemetery once stood. 

The city of Clearwater, members of the NAACP, as well as the Pinellas County Schools, are waiting on the final report to figure out what the next steps should be. 

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Crews will continue to work over the next two weeks to verify what is under the ground. They will then give a preliminary report and a final report before any decisions are made. They expect the process to take at least a few more months. 

While no final plans have been made for what will happen to the site after the final report is released, the city, the NAACP, the Pinellas County School District, as well as the community, are in agreement that if graves are confirmed on the property, something will be done to memorialize the space and pay respect to those buried there.