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Thousands raised to repair enslaved man's Bristol grave

Iwona Barbaszynska Vandalised gravestoneIwona Barbaszynska
The headstone in memory of Scipio Africanus, who lived in Bristol in the 18th Century, was smashed

Thousands of pounds have been raised to restore the grave of an enslaved African man which has been vandalised.

The headstone in memory of Scipio Africanus, who lived in Bristol in the 18th Century, was smashed and a message scrawled in chalk nearby.

Police are investigating the attack, which is thought to have happened on Tuesday or Wednesday.

On Friday, a JustGiving page with a target of £1,000 to help restore the memorial had raised more than £3,400.

Archaeologist Richard Osgood, who set up the page, said he wanted to "make sure it is restored".

"Whatever one's politics, the desecration of a grave, a place of memorial to an innocent, is abhorrent," he said.

"Please let us demonstrate our shared humanity and inherent good of the people in this country."

Graffiti in graveyard
A message scrawled in chalk nearby called for a statue of slave trader Edward Colston be "put back"

The Grade II* listed memorial to Scipio Africanus, who died aged 18 in 1720, is in St Mary's Churchyard in Henbury.

Historians believe Scipio Africanus may have been born into the household of 7th Earl of Suffolk, Charles Howard, and was the son of an enslaved West African woman, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He was named by his "owners" after the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.

PA Media Colston statue lowered into Bristol harbourPA Media
The Colston statue was pushed into the harbour after being toppled by protesters

The chalk message called for slave trader Edward Colston's statue, which was torn down in a Black Lives Matter protest, to be put back.

The statue was dumped in the city's harbour during anti-racism protests earlier this month.

It has since been retrieved from the water and is expected to be displayed in a museum along with placards from the protest.

There have been several other protests calling for statues and monuments celebrating controversial figures in the UK to be taken down or amended.

This includes governors at Oxford's Oriel College voting on Wednesday to remove a statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes, and a statue of slave trader Robert Milligan being removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands last week.