The Franklin County Coroner has discovered the origins of skeletal remains found in a sinkhole earlier this week.
Coroner William C. Harrod has determined that the skull discovered in a farm field is that of a Native American estimated to be 1000-3000 years old.
Mark Wells said he was mowing in a farm field along Jones Lane in the Switzer community Tuesday when he noticed a sinkhole that had gotten significantly deeper. When he stopped and looked into the approximately 15-foot deep hole, he spotted what looked like a human skull lodged in the side about halfway down. Wells said the sinkhole has been there at least a year, and it was marked off to keep anybody from falling in, but it wasn’t nearly as deep before.
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Sheriff Pat Melton tells LEX 18 that detectives had to treat the scene as a homicide scene.
“We don’t know whether we dealing with something that’s been here hundreds of years. There have been Indian artifacts found on this farm. There’s a cemetery on the other side of this farm. So, we don’t know whether this is something that’s hundreds of years old or if it’s something that’s 20-40 years old. We really don’t know that. We’ve got to process this like a homicide scene. That’s our goal to preserve evidence, recover and photograph extensively to get the most that we can get,” says Sheriff Pat Melton.
The press release states that the Franklin County Coroner’s Office will be working closely with the Kentucky Heritage Council and the State Historical Preservation Office on a combined reinterment effort on the original site in order ensure that there is no additional damage to the archaeological site.
