TULSA, Okla. — Five more burials were discovered during a mass grave excavation at Oaklawn Cemetery on Thursday.
After searches for mass graves continued on June 1, the excavation team expanded their research area to try and find graves in the southeastern corner of the cemetery after evidence showed they were near a grave shaft. It was there they found additional burials.
READ MORE: 1921 Race Massacre mass graves excavation continues June 1
According to Kary Stackelbeck, State Archaeologist of the State of Oklahoma, these additional burials bring the total number of people known to be buried in this mass grave to be 20. 12 burials were discovered during the test excavation last year in October.
The search for burials is a part of the 1921 Graves Investigation the City of Tulsa is conducting to try and locate victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
READ MORE: Archaeologists confirm they have a total of 12 individual burials in graves investigation
After the excavation stage, the research team will document their findings and then send the remains to be tested for DNA to see if they can be linked to the Tulsa Race Massacre. More information about finding mass graves can be found on the City of Tulsa's website.
To keep up with the latest updates in the excavation process, follow the 1921 Graves' Facebook page.
Trending Stories:
- Legal teams provide updates on Race Massacre survivors' lawsuit
- DOWNLOAD the 2 Works for You app for alerts
- City of Tulsa hopes to bridge the wealth gap
- FOLLOW 2 Works for You on Facebook
- ZZ Top, Cody Jinks headlines inaugural Born & Raised Music Festivalit
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
