Crews found the remains of caskets and bone fragments while doing routine prep work at a construction site at Temple University in North Philadelphia, the school announced on Friday, April 11. The discovery was made on North Broad Street across from Polett Walk, according to a Temple University s pokesperson. The spokesperson said the discovery was not a surprise as the construction site occupies a portion of the former Monument Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1837 and sold to Temple University and the Philadelphia Board of Education in the 1950s after falling into disrepair. At that time, the bodies at the cemetery were relocated and reinterred at Lanview Memorial Park in Rockledge, Pennsylvania. “Knowing that it is not uncommon for remains to be discovered at construction sites with similar histories, the university had prepared a detailed plan for the appropriate protocol in the event of the discovery of human remains,” the spokesperson wrote. The spokesperson said the crews who found the remains immediately stopped working at the site per protocol and the school notified the Philadelphia Coroner’s Office, medical examiner, an archeologist as well as law enforcement. The school’s archeological consultant and other agencies then visited the area where the remains were found. “We followed their guidance to ensure the remains were handled with the utmost care and respect and per the protocol, did not resume work in that area until directed by the appropriate agencies,” the spokesperson wrote. The ongoing construction is part of a project to build a new facility for Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication. The building will also house the school’s Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts. ...read more read less