What was supposed to be a basement renovation project quickly turned into an archaeology project in Ridgefield, Conn. Human skeletal remains possibly belonging to Revolutionary War soldiers who fought in the Battle of Ridgefield in 1777 were found underneath the foundation of an 18th-century home, The Danbury News-Press reports. Remains from three individuals were discovered underneath the house, originally built in 1790 and subject to several additions over the years.
Nicholas Bellantoni of the Connecticut Office of State Archaeology said that the skeletons were found “contorted and confined” in a hole that was relatively shallow —about three to four feet below the gravel floor of the home’s basement.
The homeowners were planning a renovation of the basement when a construction crew found the first skeleton. The homeowner called the Ridgefield Police Department, who notified the medical examiner’s office after it was determined the bones were more than 50 years old.
“By law, the police have to investigate any discovery in case there’s an open case that is of criminal interest,” Bellantoni explained. “Once it was determined that this collection of bones was at least a hundred years old — possibly even 200 years old — they were able to contact the ME who then turned to the Office of State Archaeology.”
“We hope to solve this riddle,” he said. “We have a working hypothesis and some very compelling evidence to back it up but there’s no direct evidence yet that these were Revolutionary War soldiers. That determination will be made through the lab work and that takes a few months. We potentially won’t know for sure until the spring 2020. ... Their teeth are in pretty good shape and that’s important for DNA forensics. We could eventually figure out their diet and that might tell us who’s side they were on. It’s amazing what science can do ..."
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