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A routine backyard makeover on one of the West Village’s best-known streets took a startling turn this week, when the crew’s shovels hit something no one expected to find.
Construction workers renovating the rear garden at 79 Christopher Street, next door to St. John’s Lutheran Church, dug up a skull and several bones on Thursday morning, Nov. 5. They called 911 at around 11 a.m., and officers from the 6th Precinct responded.
The remains were lying roughly 4 to 7 feet down, Gothamist reported. Sources described a skull and about five bones arranged in a square on the ground — a layout that could point to a grave — according to amNewYork, which reported that the whole building was under construction at the time.
The mystery didn’t last long. The city’s Medical Examiner determined the bones are historic and likely date to the 19th century, Gothamist reported, concluding they were probably buried in the mid-1800s, when the plot served as a burial ground for the neighboring church. Police said they do not suspect foul play, and it was not immediately clear whether the remains belonged to a man or a woman.
The outlet noted the church dates to 1855.
No statement from the church or the property’s owner had been reported as of Friday, and it’s unclear how the discovery will affect the renovation.
