As many as 7000 human bodies found buried under the University of Mississippi in Jackson
Evidently there are as many as 7000 human bodies buried under a school right here in Mississippi. Below is a timeline of when the bodies began to discovered at the University in Mississippi in Jackson -
44 bodies unearthed when the university planned to build a place for students and staff to do their laundry
66 bodies found buried under the university while building a new road on the campus
According to ground-penetrating radar at least 1000 bodies were discovered in 2014 and then later 2000 more bodies and now as many as 7000 bodies across 20 acres of the university campus.
All graves appear to be unmarked although in tidy rows and with each body in it's own wooden coffin.
Tentative costs are estimated at $3000.00 to exhume & rebury each body (at a cemetery)... possibly $21 million dollars in all.
However, there appears to be a new and thought-provoking plan for the bodies -
The University of Mississippi in Jackson may create a memorial to preserve the remains of the bodies (bones), clothing remnants and wooden coffins. The said remains would be placed at a visitors’ center and lab (for study) at the university.
Costs = $400,000.00 a year for at least 8 years
The above was in my own words (no copyright violation) and taken form sources such as those cited below -
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/mississippi-state-asylum/529638/
Wow. I can't imagine
Very sad, but also quite interesting and almost reminds me of the christian catacombs underneath france. Makes me wonder how many places like this are still unknown in the world. Very informative post nandi-bear. Keep it up!
It appears that when these sort of State Asylums (or State Medical Institutions) were first built they were created with good intentions and with the support of advocates who were looking for a way to make sure that mentally handicap individuals would be helped -
"...when the Mississippi State Asylum was first built, it was part of a reform-minded movement to provide better care for the mentally ill. The asylum followed the then novel Kirkbride Plan, an architectural layout devised by the eminent psychiatrist Thomas Kirkbride that was supposed to placate the minds of his patients. Kirkbride believed in sunlight and fresh air, so the wings of the hospital were offset to maximize patients’ views from windows and minimize their ability to see each other. At the same time, rooms were laid out so the staff could keep careful watch of the patients."
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/mississippi-state-asylum/529638/
Wow! It's a real cemetery. Very sad.. :(
Any Idea as to who they were & why they where buried there?
They appear to be patients (many were just elderly people with nowhere else to go) who died (or were killed by the conditions or/and treatment) at the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum which operated from what appears to 1855 thru 1935.
According to Dr. Molly Zuckerman, an associate anthropology professor at Mississippi State -
“Mortality was very, very high in the [Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum],” Zuckerman said. “Most died 13 months after they were institutionalized.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bodies-buried-at-university-of-mississippi_us_5911d47fe4b05e1ca201e553
Thanks for the response nandi..
So sad..
You're welcome