Between the 1690s and 1790s a small area of land in Lower Manhattan was used as a burial site for over 15,000 free and enslaved Africans. Unfortunately, the burial ground was lost under years of urban development, until the area was excavated in 1991 and the remains of 419 Africans and over 500 individual artefacts were rediscovered. The African Burial Ground National Monument now honours the earliest known African American cemetery and the people who played an important role in New York’s heritage. Close by to the monument on the corner of Duane Street and Federal Plaza you can also find a commemorative plaque featuring a carved skeleton.