Stakeholders demand halt to burial ground project after graves damaged

The construction of a heritage project by the state-owned tourism developer has led to the desecration of graves at the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground in Christ Church, sparking outrage among spiritual leaders, historians and academics.

The site, believed to be the largest communal enslaved burial ground in the Western Hemisphere, has suffered significant damage, prompting calls for an immediate halt to the development.

On Friday, following a spiritual ritual at the burial ground, immediate past chairman of the Council of Spiritual Baptist Churches of Barbados and cultural studies specialist John Hunte joined university lecturer and historian Dr Tara Inniss in declaring that what was supposed to be a national project to honour the culture and lives of enslaved Africans had turned into a historical disaster.

Hunte and Inniss, who are also members of the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground sub-committee of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society (BMHS), said that based on empirical data and extensive research done at the site, a number of graves as well as enslaved living quarters were indeed disrupted.

Admitting that what had transpired at the site was a grave error, they, on behalf of a group of concerned citizens, academics, historians and spiritual leaders, are demanding that the construction be halted and consultation done with the relevant stakeholders.

In 2021, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced plans to create a Barbados Heritage District, which would include a memorial, a major global research institute and a museum at Newton, which would also serve as a tourist attraction.

Last October 4, the developer – the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc (BTII) – held a three-hour meeting with members of the burial ground committee and representatives from the museum. The committee shared their concerns about the project and on October 21, a letter was submitted to the BTII highlighting the views of religious leaders and concerned citizens about the development.

The burial ground committee was promised that consultation would occur before the project commenced, but Hunte and Inniss said it did not happen.

While visiting the site on December 14, Hunte saw the construction and raised the alarm that work was being done. About ten days later, the BTII issued a press release announcing that phase one of the project had started but it did not state when.

The release said: “BTI remains committed to ensuring that all measures will be put in place to make certain that the reverence and respect of the burial ground are maintained.”

Hunte and Innis said that contrary to the BTII’s statements, the construction of the heritage project and the lack of consultation was a slap in the face to the stakeholders that were left out and a show of disrespect to the sacred site and the ancestors.

“Although we were kind of in support of the project [development], there were certain things that were being overlooked in terms of the archaeological findings and the level of respect that should be paid not only to the memory of the people who are here, but also to the practitioners who come here on a frequent basis,” Hunte said, pointing out that a number of graves were destroyed and areas of significance were disrupted.

“We know that some of the area has been encroached because of the development and that areas that we had identified as significant aspects of the Newton Plantation have been disturbed to the extent that we’re not going to be able to fully find out what was there before. We also felt, given the tone of what was being said, that there was not going to be much of an intervention going forward. We also wanted the public to be aware of what was happening and we wanted to make a little bit of noise.”

Hunte said that while significant damage was already done, there was a way to ensure no more errors were made going forward. He said that construction should pause until consultations have occurred.

He told Barbados TODAY: “We can’t continue to make the same mistakes by covering over our history, so let us find a way. It doesn’t have to be a long pause; just find a way that we can have the right tone of reconciliation, of inclusion and of respect so that everybody could feel included.”

Inniss, who heads the burial ground committee, said she was hurt by what was going on.

“The damage is done,” the University of the West Indies historian said. “The developers have not prioritised work with communities who use this space . . . and if they do not value the spiritual guidance of people who commune at Newton, they are putting monuments up to nothing. No monuments are needed, but if you must build them, do the work, all of it, spiritual, historical, [and] archaeological before you start. Ask for help if you do not know. It was offered and then disregarded. It has just been so hurtful and emotional to know that something that we spent so much time talking with many people about, could just go forward without any kind of consultation.

“If we’re talking about a possible World Heritage inscription, we have to adhere to international conventions on intangible cultural heritage and on world heritage, and all of those emphasise the importance and the participation of communities. If we don’t do that, then we’re really not protecting anything for anyone.”

The management of the BMHS has remained mum on the matter despite several attempts to get a response. Barbados TODAY has reached out to the president of the society, Professor Justin Robinson, and long-time director Alissandra Cummins.

An online petition has been started, seeking at least 50 signatures in a bid to press the government to pause construction.

The burial ground at Newton was said to have 570 burials on a half-acre site, which the Barbados Museum acquired in 1993. But in a groundbreaking study in 2022, Canadian research expert Brian Whiting, using ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology, discovered that there were more than 570 burials and the cemetery had extended beyond half an acre.

In the study, Reconsidering ‘Rab Land’: A Geophysical Survey of Newton Enslaved Burial Ground in Barbados, Whiting said: “The 570-burial figure almost certainly represents a minimum . . . . For a variety of reasons, the true number is expected to be at least two to three times higher and will likely never be known with full certainty.”

He explained that the grounds were only made available to the slaves because it was considered ‘rab land’, unsuitable for crops with thin, stony soil.

Whiting added: “The full extent of the burial ground is not yet known. It is probably confined to roughly the site boundaries . . . and does not cross into named fields, although prior excavation results indicate burials up to or perhaps slightly beyond the extent of the defined study area.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.com