Vincent Marcello intended to build a swimming pool in his backyard, which is built on top of the city's oldest burial grounds. 15 coffins have been excavated so far.
Marcello wasn't too surprised - he had hired an archeologist to do a little digging before construction started, since he knew the site had been the St. Peter's Cemetery. St. Peter's was closed in 1789 when it was declared unsanitary.
John Pope reports:
"The skeletons were sent to Baton Rouge, where they are being studied in LSU's Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Laboratory."
"Once the digging on the French Quarter site stopped three months ago, work on the pool resumed, even though undisturbed coffins remain, legally, beneath the area where people will splash about."
Read the full story: 15 coffins unearthed when property owner digs for pool on edge of French Quarter
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