Alva Review-Courier -

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A team of researchers and historians on Monday resumed test excavations of potential unmarked mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

A backhoe operator began slowly moving dirt at Tulsa's Oaklawn Cemetery, where ground-penetrating radar earlier this year determined there was an anomaly consistent with mass graves.

Researchers plan to open a 6-by-3-meter excavation area using the backhoe to clear the first layer of soil, followed by shovels, trowels and even more delicate tools if remains are uncovered, said Oklahoma State Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck.

"It can beco...