This is a headstone as well as this is a
headstone.
The footstone associated with this individual and likely this individual
is below the ground service.
Well, the Hermitage is the home of President Andrew Jackson.
He bought this property in 18 O four and called
it the Hermitage because he felt it was his retreat
from life.
We know from from records that Jackson enslaved about 325
people, and not all of those 325 were actually here
at the Hermitage.
He owned other plantations and other businesses where some of
those enslaved were.
And sort of at the height here, there were around
150 slaves at the Hermitage.
Archaeology at the Hermitage regarding the lives of people who
are enslaved here goes back to the late 1970s and
early 1980s and has been a priority for interpretation and
understanding and study since then.
It was always believed and known that there was likely
a cemetery somewhere on the property, and there had been
a few attempts over the years to attempt to identify
it.
We found a larger grave shaft for this individual.
This individual here is where a footstone exists.
It's about a foot below surface.
That footstone with the headstone being so close means that
this is likely a child.
We need to listen to other voices because there are
many communities that that need to have a voice in
this.
There's especially the descendant community that needs to have a
voice and, and we need to take those into account
and, and build a consensus for, for how this site
should be treated going forward.
For now, we will allow people to to come here
and we hope they see it as a reflective, contemplative
space.