Construction crew uncovers human bones during gas line install in New York City

Updated Oct 16, 2014

A construction crew in New York City made a pretty startling discovery last week when a routine trench dig uncovered human bones.

According to the New York Daily News, the crew discovered the bones while digging a trench for a gas main in the borough of Queens on the morning of October 7. Work was stopped and the city medical examiner was called in.

In all, five pieces of bone between 6 and 8 inches in length were found at the site, police told the Daily News. According to a separate report from the New York Post, the bones included two femurs.

The Post report says the crew was digging the trench below a sidewalk in front of a Richmond Hill home and that the bones were found about three feet beneath the surface.

The Post first reported that the bones are likely “more than a few decades old.” In fact, a follow-up report from the Daily News says the bones might have been buried during the 1800s as archival maps indicate that a cemetery was once located in the area of the dig. The cemetery was located on the farm of the once-prominent Napier family of Queens.

Police have not confirmed or denied where the bones came from or how old they are and are still investigating the matter.