Excavation of the Indian Neck Ossuary - General Photos, September 1979, Wellfleet, MA

These photos show general images related to the excavation of the Indian Neck ossuary, Wellfleet, MA in September, 1979. The ossuary site was discovered inadvertently when a backhoe operator digging a hole for a new septic tank for a resident noticed human skeletal remains in the dirt he had removed from the backhoe excavation. Each photo is described in the following list:
** Photo #1 [a1-caco_survey_19_bn_387.tif] shows the surface at the Indian Neck ossuary site prior to archaeological excavation in August or early September, 1979. The photo shows the concrete septic tank in the hole that was dug for it. It was during the backhoe excavation of this hole that the machine operator noticed human skeletal remains in the dirt from the hole. The investigation of these skeletal remains led to the discovery of the ossuary site.
** Photo #2 [a12-Indian Neck ossuary-last-day-hurricane.tif] shows the excavation area covered with hastely-rigged tarps to protect against wind and rain from a hurricane that passed over Cape Cod on the last day of the time available to excavate the ossuary site.