When Absence is the Artifact: Unmarked Graves in the Jewish Section, Melbourne General Cemetery

Abstract

A study of unmarked nineteenth-century Jewish graves in the Melbourne General Cemetery strongly counters traditional histories of local communal practice and identity. An expanded synthesis of sources allows for an understanding of the site in international and local contexts, both historical and current. Previous above-ground archaeological cemetery studies have been limited to analysis of funerary monumentation. This article finds meaning in the archaeological record formed by the absence of burial markers altogether.