In general, it is the practice of Christians and some other religious/ethnic groups to orient graves east-to-west. The Christian practice is to place the head to the west, so that the deceased will be facing the east to see Christ's second coming. This pattern is pretty uniform from the 17th century in North America. Where in New Jersey is the project? Will it be possible to get a copy of the report? John P. McCarthy Senior Archaeologist/Historian Institute for Minnesota Archaeology/ IMA Consulting, Inc. (former practitioner of Mid-Atlantic region historical archaeology <g!>)