Greater Astoria
Historial Society
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32 FEBRUARY 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
This image adapted from an invitation to the
Long Island City Athletics 33rd Annual Masque Ball, 1909.
Legends
A Slab in the Wall
BY GREATER ASTORIA
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Greater Astoria Historical So-ciety
got a call a few years ago
from a homeowner who lived on a
hill overlooking the East River in Astoria
and who had recently removed a portion
of the yard to create street level parking.
He found a white marble slab, lying flat,
several feet under the surface (the exact
depth after the lapse of time is vague).
The excavated soil was removed, but the
mystery stone was cemented into the
retaining wall as an ornamental novelty.
After taking
measurements
and photographs
we immediately
suspected it was
likely a gravestone
(an observation later
affirmed probable by
tombstone experts).
As it was found near
where a soldier was
buried two hundred
and thirty-six years
ago — Lieutenant
Barry of the Loyal
Foresters – we pos-tulated
if his wealthy,
heart-broken friends, who had buried him
as newspapers of the time stated ‘with
the honors of war,’ commissioned a white
marble gravestone in his honor.
Gravestone historian Elise Madeleine
Ciregna, who has examined the stone
via photographs, stated: “I have con-sulted
with several other experts and
colleagues of mine about this intriguing
stone. I do believe – and my colleagues
agree – that it is very possible that this
is a late-18th century gravestone … (as
opposed to a decorative ornamental or
garden piece) because it appears to be in
a ‘slab’” shape, which is really only used
for headstone purposes in the 18th and
19th centuries.”
But she cautions, “The stone, at
10 inches is extremely thick … much
thicker by far than any marble gravestone
I have ever seen – and much thicker than
it would have needed to be. Typically
early marbles in a slab form are usu-ally
no more than 2 inches thick. Also
there were few marble workers in early
America capable of producing this nicely
carved stone and there is no signature
or legible design/lettering.” She also
further decried a proper archeological
excavation to determine evidence of
human remains.
Every argument can be met with a
counter-argument. Perhaps a stone slab,
intended to be cut into several slabs for
multiple burials was ‘requisitioned,’ perhaps
with no money or time for an engraver, a
tribute was painted on the stone (letter
‘shapes’ are found
but it is unclear if
it’s simply staining
from the soil which
creates an optional
illusion.) Finally,
was its location,
discovered a few
feet underground,
simply the result of
tossing a stone into
landfill, or an attempt
to disguise the
grave and protect it
from desecration?
All pro-burial stone
arguments sound
reasonable if we remember that the in-ternment
was conducted in the closing
chapter of the Revolution when the British
Occupation began to unravel.
However, extraordinary claims require
extraordinary evidence. The soil removal
makes it all but impossible to confirm a
burial since remains as buttons and bone
fragments are lost. All that we have is a
stone – and it is blank. Baring a battery
of tests that would confirm possible let-tering
pigment or taking a sample of the
stone to determine its origin, this riddle
will remain likely unsolved. Money is not
granted for these things.
Other great cities around the world
have public education programs that
enlighten residents on the priceless
historic fabric under our feet – and who
to contact if something is uncovered.
Why not New York? (thanks to Susan
Rahyab for research)
