On April 20, 2016, a University of Utah historical architect found something unexpected at an excavation site. At first glance in the morning light, he thought it might have been a rock. Closer inspection made it clear, though, that it was a human skull. The skull was just one of more than 1,000 bones and bone fragments found at the site, which were later identified as the remains of anatomical cadavers used by the medical school for dissection sometime between 1905 and 1933. Over the next year, a team of archaeologists, anthropologists and historians worked to piece together the story of who those remains may have belonged to and how they ended up beneath a historic university building.
From the Judges
Judges agreed this submission was loaded with interesting content. We liked that they made the most of a really unique university story and that they were able to get news coverage for their efforts. Who in the community wouldn't want to hear about skeletons buried under academic buildings?!
