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The Lost Cemetery of Estate Bethlehem
The Lost Cemetery of Estate Bethlehem
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Other Projects by TALLER LARJAS, LLC architecture & design
The Lost Cemetery of Estate Bethlehem
STATUS
Concept
SIZE
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft
BUDGET
$100K - 500K
The Lost Cemetery of Estate Bethlehem is a unique project that develops the sacred burial site of enslaved Africans recently uncovered under an Emperor Tamarind Tree. Their unmarked graves are being preserved through the creation of a monument honoring their lives and names. To enhance the site's sanctity and to define the burials, an ADA ramp leads to (2) mounds that surround each site allowing persons to visit, meditate and reflect on the contributions of these formerly lost but not forgotten people.
Creating earth mounds that rest respectfully over the burial sites allows the graves to remain undisturbed while providing a base for the new concrete walkways and curbs to be constructed. Using the Tradewinds as a catalyst to move sculptures in the tree and produce musical notes help ensure this sacred space is not static and helps resurrect the memory of those individuals resting there. Indigenous materials such as caliche stone & shells are infused in the curbs and walking surfaces as a tribute to those same materials that are encapsulated in the rubble stone structures built by our ancestors. The placement of burials beneath the tamarind tree is not solely for the deceased as a sacred space, but is also a convening place for our storytelling (oral history traditions) locally known as " 'Tory Under deh Taman Tree". Many former plantations on St. Croix and in the Territory, have these sacred burial sites of our ancestors which were typically located in similar places, especially under large ceremonial trees such as the Tamarind: all divine places found in African culture and folklore transplanted to our shores.
Due to concise records, the history of the Enslaved Africans that were forcibly brought to the former Danish West Indies, the present U.S. Virgin Islands can be found and their stories told. The conch shells' grave markers are a traditional element in formal cemeteries on the islands and are eloquent symbols to be placed on each burial. Also, an Enslaved African blowing a conch shell is a well-known image representing the emancipation achieved by their revolt on St. Croix, July 3, 1848, which is an apropos symbolic marker for this project. Kinetic sculptures in the Tamarind Trees and chimes embedded in the concrete berms activate these solemn burial sites. Sound as well as textured surfaces give homage to these former plantation laborers who built the former structures that still stand at the site today and are responsible for the rich culture and heritage that graces this Territory.
Creating earth mounds that rest respectfully over the burial sites allows the graves to remain undisturbed while providing a base for the new concrete walkways and curbs to be constructed. Using the Tradewinds as a catalyst to move sculptures in the tree and produce musical notes help ensure this sacred space is not static and helps resurrect the memory of those individuals resting there. Indigenous materials such as caliche stone & shells are infused in the curbs and walking surfaces as a tribute to those same materials that are encapsulated in the rubble stone structures built by our ancestors. The placement of burials beneath the tamarind tree is not solely for the deceased as a sacred space, but is also a convening place for our storytelling (oral history traditions) locally known as " 'Tory Under deh Taman Tree". Many former plantations on St. Croix and in the Territory, have these sacred burial sites of our ancestors which were typically located in similar places, especially under large ceremonial trees such as the Tamarind: all divine places found in African culture and folklore transplanted to our shores.
Due to concise records, the history of the Enslaved Africans that were forcibly brought to the former Danish West Indies, the present U.S. Virgin Islands can be found and their stories told. The conch shells' grave markers are a traditional element in formal cemeteries on the islands and are eloquent symbols to be placed on each burial. Also, an Enslaved African blowing a conch shell is a well-known image representing the emancipation achieved by their revolt on St. Croix, July 3, 1848, which is an apropos symbolic marker for this project. Kinetic sculptures in the Tamarind Trees and chimes embedded in the concrete berms activate these solemn burial sites. Sound as well as textured surfaces give homage to these former plantation laborers who built the former structures that still stand at the site today and are responsible for the rich culture and heritage that graces this Territory.
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