Experts link graves to one of nation’s oldest Black churches

By BEN FINLEY
Associated Press

A team of archaeologists and scientists in Virginia say the graves of three men belonged to one of the nation’s oldest Black churches. The First Baptist Church was formed in 1776 by free and enslaved Black people in Williamsburg, Virginia. Members initially gathered outdoors in defiance of laws that prevented African Americans from congregating. The church’s original brick foundation from the early 1800s was uncovered in 2021 by archaeologists at the Colonial Williamsburg museum. They also found more than 60 graves. Experts conducted DNA testing, analyzed bones and examined coffin nails and other materials from three burial plots. The three men were buried in the first half of the 19th century.