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Skull dug up by road crew came from old grave

By: Alexandra Paul

Friday, Jul. 20, 2012 at 8:16 AM | Comments: 0

The skull a road crew dug up in St. Boniface is not a criminal matter, Winnipeg police determined Thursday.

It's a matter for the church.

The skull belongs to a historic burial, a provincial spokesman said by email.

"Only a portion of the burial was uncovered and it appears to be an individual buried in or near the historic cemetery within the last 100 years," the spokesman said.

The grave was found across the street from the St. Boniface Cemetery, the oldest Roman Catholic cemetery in Western Canada. Manitoba Métis leader Louis Riel is among those buried there.

At one point, the cemetery, which shares grounds with the St. Boniface Cathedral, was much larger. Some years ago, a number of graves were relocated to make room for street work.

A construction crew on Wednesday was working on the corner of Rue de la Cathédrale and Taché Avenue to replace a water main when they uncovered the body beneath a concrete sidewalk.

They immediately halted work and called the authorities. Winnipeg city police brought in the province's historic resources branch to identify and assess the remains.

The skull was uncovered and it will be reinterred.

"The original burial location was slightly disturbed by the excavation equipment. Historic resources branch archeologists are now onsite ensuring the remains are intact and once this is done, the remains will be returned to the grave and reburied in the original location," the provincial spokesman said.

The present waterworks installation will be slightly modified so as to completely avoid the grave.

"The grave location will be noted so any future excavation work does not re-disturb this individual," the spokesman said.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

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