Nearly 2,000 bodies that were thought to have been relocated from an old cemetery were found during exhumation.
Nearly 2,000 bodies that were thought to have been transported from the old graveyard over which the nation’s oldest and most prestigious school is located were discovered by archaeologists during the greatest mass exhumation in Australian history.
The Australia Broadcasting Corporation said on Sunday that the bodies were found in March 2024 when construction was underway at The Hutchins School in Hobart, Tasmania’s capital.
In what is thought to be the biggest mass exhumation in Australian history, a group of archaeologists began a rigorous nine-month excavation and identification process in an attempt to put together who was buried beneath the surface.
Disgusting burial customs and inadequate documentation hindered efforts to identify the bodies that were found.
The remains of 1,973 persons have been excavated from the former hockey field at The Hutchins School as of the final count.
There are still hundreds of bodies beneath.
From 1873 until 1917, Queenborough Cemetery was run by a private corporation before being taken over by the Hobart City Council. In 1934, the final burial took place.
It is estimated that throughout those sixty years, between nine thousand and thirteen thousand persons were interred there.
In 1964, the site was taken acquired by the Hutchins School as part of a land-swap and sale agreement that required the council to pay for the exhumation of up to 1,900 human remains.
Historical archaeologist Brad Williams says it’s hard to say how many remains were dug up in the 1960s.
From the remains of the excavated individuals, the team was able to ascertain their probable age, whether they had undergone an autopsy, and whether they had suffered any physical damage.
With a few Roman Catholic and Wesleyan private sections, they were primarily working in the Church of England public sector of the cemetery.
Since just 15% of the original cemetery’s footprint was excavated, archeologists estimate that hundreds more bodies are lying beneath the school grounds.
