Excavation work at Oaklawn cemetery to wrap up this week, archeologists say

TULSA, Okla. — The archeologists working to find possible victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre plan to wrap up excavation work this week.

Remains that scientists believe to be a man with a gunshot wound was discovered in an unmarked grave at Oaklawn Cemetery. In an update to the media, the city said a bullet core was removed from the victim’s skull Friday. This is the second time a man with a gunshot wound has been discovered since the investigation began.

Dr. Kary Stackelbeck, the state archaeologist of the State of Oklahoma, said that the excavation crew plans to continue digging further to the west, based on trends they are seeing from remains discovered at this point in the investigation.

“We’re looking at our current trends in the data from the individuals we’ve exhumed thus far,” she said. “We believe that it’s worth our efforts to continue that process moving to the west to see if that pattern seems to continue.”

During the excavation part of the investigation, the ground team has discovered 26 burials. But only four sets of remains have been removed from the ground.

Stackelback explained that the team is looking for certain criteria to help them decide to move the remains to an on-site lab.

“The main criteria are the style of coffin, or burial containers,” she said. “We’re looking first for simple, wooden burial containers. And we’re also looking for adults.”

The excavation team is also set to wrap up their portion of the investigation this week. Stackelback said the forensic team will continue to work in an on-site lab before teams leave the Tulsa area.

This is a developing story.

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