By Brenna Angel
Lexington, KY – With shovels, dental picks, and skewers in hand, a team of students and archaeologists began pushing back the dirt Wednesday at small plot of land at Eastern State Hospital in Lexington. Human remains were discovered in January at the old mental institution, which opened in 1824. David Pollack of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey is overseeing the excavation.
"After we finish exposing them and photographing them and mapping them, we carefully remove the remains, take them back to the University of Kentucky archaeological laboratory, and then we carefully wash the materials, ID them, analyze them, and then write a report."
The bones were found by construction workers. A new Eastern State Hospital is being built at another location and Bluegrass Community and Technical College will eventually occupy the property. Other remains have been located in the past, and State Finance Cabinet spokeswoman Cindy Lanham says this latest discovery is no surprise.
"We did anticipate finding the remains and knew it would be a costly and lengthy process. It's not impacted the budget any and it's not delayed the process any of the construction.
Exhuming the remains and reinterring them is expected to cost several hundred thousand dollars.