Bioarchaeology of a mid-late 19th century Anglican community: St Mary’s Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia

A long-term collaboration between the Anglican Church of St Mary’s, Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, and Anatomical Sciences, Medical School, University of Adelaide, has provided a unique opportunity to study the past health and lifeways of a mid-late 19th century colonial community in Adelaide, South Australia. In response to an invitation from the St Mary’s Anglican Church administration to the Department of Archaeology at Flinders University in 1999 to locate and recover early colonial burials associated with the unmarked section (no gravestones or memorials) of the cemetery located at the rear of the church, seventy human skeletons and associated funerary remains were excavated and included in a series of initial research projects to expand understanding of early colonial history in the parish and surrounding region. Fieldwork and excavations were completed between September 1999 and December 2000. Following completion of initial research, the human and funerary remains recovered from the
excavation were interred in a concrete crypt in the back section of the church cemetery with a memorial plaque. The crypt provided a means to memorialize these early colonial South Australians and allow access to the remains in relation to potential future research.