SOMERSET —
Two old wooden caskets with what are believed to be human remains were found two weeks ago on the grounds of the State Correctional Institution-Laurel Highlands as a contractor was excavating a site for a new modular prison unit.
Work was halted immediately at the site as prison officials called in county Coroner Wallace Miller and well-known forensic anthropologist Dennis Dirkmaat to examine the remains and check the area for any other caskets, prison spokeswoman Betsy Nightingale said Monday.
“We have no idea yet on how old the caskets are, but we think they possibly date back to the 1800s, when this land was the site of the Somerset Poor House and then the Somerset State Hospital. It may have been a pauper’s grave site,” Nightingale said.
Dirkmaat could not be reached for comment, but Miller said they had been to the site with the anthropologist’s special equipment trying to find other caskets or remains.
“But we didn’t find any, and the contractor will be allowed to resume work,” Miller said.
Dirkmaat has worked on a number of cases in Cambria and Somerset counties, including the identification of remains from Flight 93.
The modular unit will house 150 inmates and is being constructed by Vanguard Modular Building Systems under a $2.8 million contract with the state, Nightingale said.
It’s the second such unit to be erected at Laurel Highlands, which has a capacity of 1,400 inmates.
The modular units, located behind the prison fences, are designed for minimum security inmates, Nightingale said. The second one is being erected near the first unit.
Prior to the excavation for the first unit, the site was checked for possible remains but none were found at that time, she said.
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