During a public research excavation project led by History Professor Jennifer Janofsky (above, right), director of Red Bank National Park, volunteers discover skeletal remains of multiple individuals and other artifacts in a shallow mass grave at the park in Gloucester County.
Believed by historians and archaeologists to be the remains of Hessian soldiers killed during the Battle of Red Bank in 1777, the remains come to light during a public archaeology dig at the battlefield. The excavated remains are taken to the New Jersey State Police Forensic Unit for study to help researchers identify their origin, to help tell the story of the lives lost, and, possibly eventually, to even find their descendants.
