My mom has told me a family story about why so many babies buried here, at
Whitesell, was poisioned wells.
She also told me that bones almost become dust after 160 years. Here is a
story from today's Indystar.
With 33 grave shafts, and only 18 on the reading, almost half the original
stones have vanished over time.
go here:
www.Indystar.com <
http://www.indystar.com/> and click on LOCAL
NEWS and scroll down to picture of hand holding coffin nails. Bob
Analyzing 150-year-old bones in the basement of Good Hall at the University
of Indianapolis is giving students a snapshot of pioneer society.
Or at least as much of a snapshot that can be derived by boxes of bones,
nails and other artifacts unearthed this summer from a roadside cemetery.
With the tedious process of identifying bodies under way, graduate students
and Stephen Nawrocki -- Indy's own CSI guy and a professor of biology and
anthropology at the Southside school -- are looking for clues about a
Castleton community that lived in the area long before the invention of the
shopping mall.
The graves were part of the Wright-Gentry-Whitesell Cemetery, which is being
relocated to make way for an expansion of I-69. Established in 1841, the
cemetery was in the 8000 block of Castleton Drive near I-69 and I-465.
"We work in recent deaths. . . . This cemetery is a really unique
opportunity to look at humans," Nawrocki said.
"These individuals are related, so we can look at whether aspects of
relatedness show up in the skeletons. With a whole group of people, we can
ask questions about their health, look at what they were dying from and
burial practices," he said.
Under the direction of the Indiana Department of Transportation and a
private excavation firm, the students helped unearth 33 grave shafts in
August.
The remains and headstones will be moved to the pioneer section of Crown
Hill Cemetery, but not before a thorough examination in the lab.
"I was really interested to be out there (at the cemetery)," said UIndy
graduate student Tony Koehl, 30. "I learned a lot about skeletal
excavation."
Even though digging up the remains took place in hot, dirty conditions and
was sprinkled with a series of downpours, it was a happier experience than
most scenes for Koehl -- crime scenes where yellow tape usually keeps
everyone away.
"Being out there and seeing families come to visit was heartwarming," Koehl
said. "I even had one of the family members thank me before he left. This is
usually a thankless job."
The lab contains one box for each grave found at the cemetery. Only half
actually had headstones.
"The remains come in, and we start by cleaning the bones and removing as
much of the dirt as possible," Nawrocki said. "Once the remains are clean,
the students take measurements and observations."
He said 28 grave shafts contained bones or bone fragments, while the bodies
in the other five had completely decayed.
But in those five grave shafts, the team found artifacts such as clothing,
buttons, pieces of casket, coffin nails and casket handles -- and at least
one brass nameplate inscribed with "Our loved one."
"It makes you wonder what else is out there," said 25-year-old graduate
student Molly Schiel.
INDOT officials would not allow photos to be taken of any of the bones or
artifacts deemed to be personal in nature.
Nawrocki rated the condition of the artifacts as "fair," noting the ground
was wet and many bones -- especially children's -- were completely
deteriorated.
Pieces of fabric have been frozen at the lab so they don't crumble during
examination. No jewelry was found.
"I don't think it reflects these people were poor," Nawrocki said. "It
could've been they were concerned about grave robbing."
Nawrocki helped excavate his first cemetery when he was in graduate school
in 1988.
"I underestimated at the time how important it was for working with modern
forensic cases," he said. "The techniques are very similar. If you can find
things that are 150 years old, you're going to be really good at finding
them in new forensic sites. I think they (the students) will knowingly or
unknowingly look back on this experience."
Students will work with the bones, trying to determine age and gender by the
size and shapes of the remains. They also will look for any distinguishing
characteristics, such as an extra set of ribs or bones shaped in different
ways.
A specialist will be brought in to examine teeth, which could show the
health status of those exhumed and provide a look at their diet, Nawrocki
said.
The UIndy professor is overseeing the study and will write a final report.
AMEC, a private environmental and geotechnical engineering company, will
study the nonhuman artifacts in Kentucky.
In the spring, all of the remains will be reunited and reburied together
just as they were configured at Whitesell. Crown Hill plans to install a
monument explaining the history of the cemetery at the site.
Call Star reporter Gretchen Becker at (317) 444-5574.