[Update Tuesday September 3, 2013] Video from WUSF News on the Dozier School for Boys exhumation work.
Human Remains Found Outside Cemetery at Dozier School for Boys
Saturday August 31, 2013
Researchers have uncovered human remains in one of three study quadrants set up outside the known border of the cemetery at the Dozier School for Boys, known has “Boot Hill.” In just the first day of work the USF archaeologists and forensic anthropologists working at the site have found 4-6 possible burial shafts outside the known boundary. By Monday afternoon they had found large bone fragments that they identified has human, casket hardware, and cloth remnants possibly belonging to a burial shroud.
Christian Wells, an assistant professor of anthropology at the USF, said this phase of the exhumation will continue through Monday afternoon, and they will use part of this visit to test and adjust their search methods. The team expects to leave the site Tuesday morning, but will return occasionally over the next year to continue the dig.
Earlier this year, the USF team determined that there were 98 deaths on the property. They believe that there are about 50 bodies buried in and around the known cemetery, while some official school records only specified 31 graves.
Robert Straley, a who was at the school in 1963 believes that there are more. In a phone interview with the LA Times he said, “I think there’s at least 100 more bodies. From 1900 to 1940 were the most brutal years in that place. Back then, a white boy’s life wasn’t worth much and a black boy’s life wasn’t worth anything.”
USF Team has a lot of work on their hands, and there will definitely be more news in the coming months.
Read more at:
Categories: Forensic Science, News
Leave a Reply