Owners of Suburban Chicago Home Make Centuries-Old Discovery in Their Yard — Now Archeologists Are at the Scene

A team of archeologists have flooded a suburban home in Chicago after the homeowners made a centuries-old discovery in his yard.

According to WBBM-TV, the homeowners— who purchased the property in the 1970s — unearthed several 19th century graves in 2001.

Archeologists are at the scene of a Suburban Chicago home after the owners discovered several graves in their yard. (Image source: WBBM-TV)

They later learned that the land their home sits on was once a cemetery which held about 400 bodies during the 1800s.

“They decided that the cemetery was in such disrepair that they wanted to remove the remaining burials to another cemetery, so that they could redevelop it,” Kevin McGowan, director of the Public Service Archaeology & Architecture program at the University of Illinois, told WBBM. “But that removal process was incomplete.”[sharequote align="right"]“Our job was just to make sure that they go...to their new final resting place."[/sharequote]

Now, McGowan and a team of archeologists are working urgently to dig out the remains of 30 infants, children and adults.

“Our job was just to make sure that they go from what was supposed to be their final resting place to their new final resting place,” he told WBBM. “We do have some cases where there might be comingling, and that’s because in the 1960s they went through with a backhoe and cut through multiple graves at the same time.”

According to the local CBS affiliate, the homeowners have struggled for years, attempting to figure out who is responsible for the costs associated with removing the remains. WBBM reported that they sued their title company in 2007.

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