By The Keystone Newspaper Undergraduate students were conducting geophysical research at historical site
By Katie Shank
KU undergraduate students found a burial ground while conducting geophysical research at a historical site in Douglassville, PA.
A team of students first discovered the burial ground in the summer of 2023 when they were looking over the results of a GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) and magnetometer scan of the Mouns Jones Property in Morlatton Village and discovered an anomaly.
Photo Credit: Dr. Laura Sherrod
The students, Rebekah Underwood, Linda Zúñiga, Giovanna LaSpisa and Kahlan Tripp, identified the anomaly as a burial ground right away from the distinctly shaped and evenly spaced lumps in the GPR data, characteristic of other burials within Pennsylvania. The only difference was in the way the burial ground was oriented. It did not follow the pattern of East to West that most graveyards in that area do.
After further investigation, it was decided that the burial ground was not a part of the Mouns Jones family.
“The original founder of the land, Mouns Jones, in 1719 donated a huge part of his land to be used for the Morlatton church to be built…So anyone that died within the area is likely buried at the church,” explained Linda Zúñiga, a student studying anthropology at KU. “There is also a provincial council report of 1712, that noted a Native American encampment within the vicinity. Because of the even slight possibility that they’re Native American burials, they’re not going to dig them up.”
The four students involved in the project began their research a year before the discovery, in the summer of 2022. They spent countless hours slowly moving heavy equipment across the land to collect data and to find buried structures underground.
“The magnetometer is so heavy,” Zúñiga said, “It’s like you’re carrying a large branch.”
After the data was collected, it had to be analyzed. Rebekah Underwood helped take the lead.
“I had no idea how much satisfaction I would get from running the data and having it all come together. You can’t see what is going on with your visual eyes,” Underwood said. “So, once you can get all those time slices out and such, it’s exciting to see ‘oh this could be a buried structure, this looks like a possible cemetery.’”
Now that the research is complete, the anthropologists on site will use the data to determine where to investigate further or, in the case of the burial ground, leave things alone.
Dr. Sherrod is the faculty member on campus in charge of teaching students how to use and interpret GPR and magnetometer equipment and data. She offers students multiple opportunities in the summer to get involved with geophysical research. Any student in any major can apply.
Students wishing to get involved with geophysical field work similar to this, can reach out through email to Dr. Sherrod at sherrod@kutztown.edu.
When asked to give advice to other students thinking about pursuing undergraduate research, Underwood said, “Just do it… just saying yes can get you really far. You just never know the possibilities if you don’t allow yourself to just go headfirst.”
Mouns Jones Historical Site
The Mouns Jones property was the first permanent settlement in Berks County PA. It was named after the Swedish immigrant who came over in 1701. At one point in history, part of the property sat along the main road to Philadelphia.