Such is the lot of the poor, the unwanted, the unidentified and the forgotten of 19th-century Albany -- laid to rest in more than a thousand unmarked graves now paved over by a parking lot.

They were the city's most marginal inhabitants, whose deaths were allotted one line apiece in a ledger kept at the Albany County Hall of Records. "Unknown man, found drowned in the river,'' one entry reads. "Died suddenly in jail,'' says another. Many state simply, "Stillborn.'' 

Since early March, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of four people behind the New Scotland Avenue Armory while doing site work for the University Heights project -- a campus for a consortium of local colleges that could eventually include a megabookstore and food court in the old armory as well as a hotel and conference center.

"We're trying to figure out where this is and how far it extends so any construction that takes place can be done without disturbing the graves if possible,'' said Carol Raemsch, a bioarchaeologist with Hartgen Associates. "These were poor people who didn't matter much back when there weren't a lot of rules about building. Construction was done right on top of them.''

University Heights planners knew the burial site existed. Workers unwittingly exhumed several dozen graves near the armory behind what is now the David Axelrod Institute of Public Health during its reconstruction in 1989.

County records show the site was used as a cemetery for the Albany County Almshouse from as early as 1880 until it moved to Colonie in the 1920s, but historians to date have been unsure of the exact boundaries of the area in which bodies were buried.

The graves may have to be moved to accommodate the University Heights project, which calls for the area being excavated to become an open landscaped area and parking lot. Several graves were located beneath the foundation of structures once used by the Air National Guard for vehicle maintenance that were demolished last year. Others lie beneath the back portion of the state-owned Axelrod Institute's parking lot.

"We want to make sure that whatever we do doesn't encroach on the remains,'' said University Heights Association Executive Director Joseph Coffey Jr. "We recognize the historic significance of this site and intend to do whatever is humane and appropriate. If it's necessary, we will rebury them elsewhere in accordance with state regulations.''

The University Heights Association owns 30 acres between New Scotland and Holland avenues and Academy Road, including the former Christian Brothers Academy. The initial plan to create a $200 million convention center complex and shared campus for Albany Medical College, Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School and the Sage Colleges was the vision of New York City philanthropist Morris "Marty'' Silverman -- a 1936 Albany Law School graduate.

Assemblyman Jack McEneny said the cemetery is a significant piece of the city's history and should be treated accordingly -- particularly since those buried there were denied dignity and respect in both life and death.

"These people died in the most reduced straits; the right thing should be done for them now,'' said McEneny, a former county historian. "They certainly aren't receiving any particular reverence where they are. The proper thing to do is not to put down fresh blacktop and park cars over them.''