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Exclusive: Tour Of Forensics Lab Housing 1700s Remains Found At Construction Site

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Archaeology crews from Rutgers University were out again at the recently discovered burial site in Old City Friday, despite the snow and poor weather conditions.

They were there to recover human bones and wooden coffins, possibly dating back to the early 1700s.

In many cases the coffins are in such bad shape that crews are recovering only skeletons. We can't show you on television but many of the skeletons are in near perfect condition. One had a full head of hair. Moran calls the preservation remarkable.

"Some of the work is just not possible. It's just too muddy," said Kimberlee Moran, a forensic archaeologist with Rutgers University. "Normally I'm dealing with murder investigations and people that have only been dead at most a couple of years to get work with bones a couple of centuries old is really exciting."

Dozens Of Coffins Discovered At Construction Site In Old City

Moran gave Eyewitness News an exclusive tour of her lab in Camden where she'll join other experts to learn more about the remains.

Stay with Eyewitness News for more on this developing story.

 

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