Henry Street Bridge contractors find grave shafts, human remains during excavation

Editor’s note: This story has been updated after the city revised its numbers on how many grave shafts were uncovered.

Contractors working on the Henry Street Bridge east of the White River have uncovered numerous grave shafts and human remains during early excavation work, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works announced Monday afternoon. 

The remains were found late last month at the approach site for the bridge on land that was home to some of the city’s earliest burial grounds during the 1800s. The property is about two blocks west of Lucas Oil Stadium.

A total of 20 grave shafts, skeletal remains, monument fragments, a coffin and coffin hardware were among the discoveries attributed to archaeologists working with AES Indiana, Stantec and Weintraut & Associates, according to the DPW news release.

City officials have previously estimated that 650 or more graves could be unearthed during the construction of the bridge project, which is taking place on the site of at least four historic cemeteries collectively known as Greenlawn Cemetery.

The DPW said the excavation project alone is expected to last until spring. Proper excavation and resettlement of the remains are expected to cost up to $12 million or more. DPW Director Brandon Herget told reporters at an Oct. 17 walkthrough of the site that excavation was slated to begin the last week of October or early November.

Canadian engineering firm Stantec, the contractor on the project’s archaeological work, found 15 grave shafts about three to four feet underground while installing beams that are intended to hold up the walls of trenches and prevent cave-ins or collapses. Stantec is using a trench-stabilization shoring system to safely excavate within the Henry Street right of way, according to the work plan submitted to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The technique Stantec is using is called “soldier piles and lagging.” It involves the insertion of vertical “piles” into the ground, which the work plan notes may disrupt burial sites, and then the addition of horizontal “lagging,” or slats that make up walls.

According to Stantec’s work plan, on-site archaeologists will identify and map the grave shafts prior to using wooden tools and mesh screens to fully uncover them. They will also be responsible for photographing and documenting details regarding human remains and artifacts as they are found, using iPads.

Contractors from AES Indiana were drilling the ground at the project site in order to install a utility line when they discovered human remains. Archaelogists from Zionsville-based archaeological firm Weintraut & Associates, who worked in conjunction with  Arcadis US and Robinson Trenching, identified at least five grave shafts, buttons, a coffin, and coffin hardware.

Many of the bodies that were buried in Greenlawn were later moved, stolen or even washed into the river during flooding, so the remaining graves and grave shafts don’t necessarily still contain remains. According to the DPW, two grave shafts uncovered by the AES contractors still contained some remains.

Bioarcheologist Dr. Jeremy Wilson will analyze the remains at his Indiana University Indianapolis lab. While analysis is ongoing, bone and bone fragments, and one coffin nail have been identified.

Stantec workers also identified a possible footstone, as well as a headstone base for a total of seven monument pieces. The possible footstone has the initials, “M.E.B.”

“The discovery of the grave shafts and artifacts will inform the community more about those buried there,” the DPW said.

Brooke Drew, an archaeologist on the Stantec team, said the goal of the archaeological team and the community advisory group is to “restore the identities of the individuals interred” at Greenlawn and to “start understanding their place in the city’s history.”

“Uncovering objects like footstones with initials are vital to these efforts as they provide us with a starting point for genealogical research. This research, coupled with archaeological and osteological data, will bring us closer to realizing this goal,” Drew said.

The DPW said the community advisory group—a collection of about a dozen historians interested in the project—was told about the discovery last week. .

On Oct. 30, the Hogsett administration held a groundbreaking ceremony for the bridge. That ceremony included remarks from Dave Kinard, Elanco EVP of Human Resources and Administration, and Kären Haley, executive director of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Members of the community advisory group and representatives from Stantec attended.