On Wednesday, archaeologists announced that a ground-penetrating radar has discovered at least 328 graves under St. Matthews Baptist Church Cemetery in Clearwater. The graves were found under the property of a consulting firm and the neighboring strip of Missouri Avenue. In 2020, the Tampa Bay times reported that the radar discovered 70 graves on the property. In April and May the archeologists discovered the other 258 graves. Now, the records show that there are at least 553 people buried there. In 1955, the community was told that these graves were going to be moved. This is one of at least 6 Black cemeteries in the Tampa Bay area with graves that have been built over.
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