In the U.S. state of North Dakota, 7 historic wooden coffins were unearthed underground during landscaping and security wall construction at Governor Kelly Armstrong's official residence in the city of Bismarck.
Examinations by state officials and archaeologists revealed human skeletal remains inside the coffins. Initial assessments indicate the remains belong to two women, two men, two adolescents, and one young child.
AREA IDENTIFIED AS FORMER CEMETERY
Research revealed that the area where the residence is located was used as Bismarck's first official cemetery between 1873 and 1877. While it was known that the graves were moved to other locations in the 1880s, the recent excavation showed that some remains were left behind at the site.
Kara Haff, spokesperson for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, stated that local archives from the period contain the phrase "We moved all graves except for two." Haff noted that encountering these remains after such a long time was surprising.
More than 80 points requiring examination were identified during field work completed by expert teams in mid-September. The analyses are expected to be completed early next year, and the unearthed remains are expected to be reinterred in a city cemetery with a ceremony to be held in the spring.
It was announced that the archaeological salvage work, which began by chance as part of the approximately 2.35 million dollar residence security project, cost 155 thousand dollars.
News Source: 12punto
