Human remains found at Gaillard construction site (Update: 37 graves, cannon ball)

Image by City of Charleston An image grab from the construction site's webcam show the heavy rain's effects.

(Update 5 at the bottom.)

The Post and Courier reports that an archaeological team is investigating two sets of human remains discovered at the Gaillard Auditorium construction site on Calhoun Street.

As of now, nothing more is known about the remains except that they were buried head-to-toe and were facing eastward. Their gender and age are will soon be identified.

Update 1: Heavy rains are postponing a planned excavation at the Gaillard Auditorium to further examine the area where a pair of skeletal remains were found.

Update 2, February 15: Excavation resumed on Thursday and turned up more than 25 grave sites, assorted animals bones, and what is believed to be part of a building's foundation.

The human remains have been dated all the way back to 1760, before the Revolutionary War.

Hop over to Live 5 News' coverage for more.

Update 3, February 16: The Post and Courier offers an updated report, noting that a total of 27 graves have been found and the current thinking places the site as far back as the 1720s, and that part of the Charleston peninsula had yet to be settled.

Updated 4, February 22: Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. sent out a memo earlier this week that shared further details regarding what is now 29 sets of human remains that have been dated back to the early 1800s.

City Council and the public have now been alerted to the plan, which in at least 30 days, will move forward with relocating the remains to a cemetery. The ultimate resting place has yet to be determined.

Update 5, February 25: An additional eight sets of human remains has brought the tally to 37 for the number of graves found underneath the Gaillard Auditorium construction site, also uncovered was a cannonball believed to be from the Revolutionary War-era.

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