COLUMBUS, Ind. — Work on a portion of the construction site of the new Bartholomew County Court Services building has halted after human bones were found by workers using an excavator to try to locate an old sewer line.
The workers, who were trying to locate a 1940s-era clay sewer line as part of the building project, stopped work May 18 after the excavator brought up a number of bones from a depth of 6- to 7-feet at the construction site at 555 First St., said Heather Pope, Columbus city redevelopment director.
The area where the bones were found was underneath a drive and partially underneath a grassy area that would have been near the previous building on the site. The contractors working on the site believe the clay sewer line would be from the 1940s and the bones would have pre-dated that. No other artifacts such as clay pots or Native American items were found with the bones, Pope said.
Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting was called to the scene as per protocol and took some photos after determining some of the bones, but not all of them, were human, Pope said.
The state’s historic preservation archeology department was then called and investigators looked over the site and determined bones were likely Native American remains — and concurred that not all the bones were human.
The city contacted the University of Indianapolis whose archeological researchers recommended roping off and securing the area where the bones were found and calling the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ historic preservation and archeology division.
For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
