Filmmaker Adam Luria’s documentary—aired on PBS’s long-running Secrets of the Dead series—details the 2011 discovery of the remains of a woman in an abandoned lot in Queens, NY. While police investigators initially believed the body to be a recent homicide, forensic tests discovered that she was a 19th-century woman who died from smallpox. Broken metal fragments found around the body were later determined to be parts of a form-fitting iron coffin that helped preserve the mummified body. But that only raised a new question: who was this woman and why was she buried in such an unlikely place? Research determined that the woman was Martha Peterson, an African American who died in 1850 at the age of 26 from smallpox, whose resting place had been the site of a burial ground for blacks. The unusual and expensive iron coffin was used under the belief that it would prevent the spread of the contagious disease that took Peterson’s life. Offering a fascinating look at forensic science, old-fashioned investigative research, and insights into African American life in pre-Civil War New York City, this real-life mystery is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
The Woman in the Iron Coffin
(2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0647-0. SDH captioned. Volume 34, Issue 3
The Woman in the Iron Coffin
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