By Eric Curl
July 9, 2023 – Potential human bone fragments were discovered at hotel construction site late last month, as Savannah Police officials continue to await GBI lab results of a bone found at the site about seven months earlier.
Police were first called to what was The Mansion at Forsyth Park at 700 Drayton St. on Dec. 9 for a report of what appeared to be human remains found during digging, according to the police report. The construction crew reportedly said they were digging a trench and observed the bone in the pile after the excavator bucket dropped a load of dirt and debris. The police precinct’s supervisor was notified, along with forensics and homicide investigators, the report states.
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The bone was then sent off to the GBI lab for testing, as is standard for such discoveries, according to Police officials. As of July 5, the department was still awaiting the lab results and they did not have any update on the case, including the type or origin of the bone, according to city and police officials.
Then on June 28, contractors at the site alerted Savannah police to the discovery of another potential bone fragment, which will also be sent to the GBI for analysis, according to an email City Manager Jay Melder sent to the Savannah City Council. Melder said the discovery of the unknown species’ remains did not warrant triggering the state’s Abandoned Cemeteries and Burial Grounds law, which governs the disinterment and disposition of human remains or burial objects.
“To date, staff have evaluated comments and historical documentation submitted by concerned residents, an archaeological expert engaged by the project developer, the City Attorney’s Office, and the City’s municipal archival records,” he said. “After careful consideration, insufficient evidence exists at this point to conclusively state that the site should be deemed an abandoned cemetery or burial ground under state law.”
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Originally built in 1888, the original building that now houses a portion of the luxury hotel had initially served as a residence and later a funeral home before being renovated and expanded by developer Richard Kessler for use as the Mansion in 2005.
New York-based hotel developer Left Lane is in the middle of the multi-million phased renovation and expansion of the hotel after purchasing the property for almost $53 million in June 2022. The “reconceptualized urban resort”, which was recently renamed Hotel Bardo Savannah, will feature 149 guest rooms, a main restaurant, club bar and lounge, pool restaurant and bar and lobby bar, as well as multiple event spaces, spa, retail and more, according to a press release issued last August.
A spokesperson for Left Lane said Thursday that historic items like bottles, bones, fragments, and cannonballs are frequently uncovered during residential and commercial construction and renovation projects in Savannah.
While not required, the company hired a licensed, independent archaeologist earlier in the year after the bone was discovered in December, according to a statement from Left Lane COO Pritpal Singh.
“The archaeologist’s findings were the result of her tedious and thorough work reviewing the City’s expansive Municipal Archives as well as reviewing other sources such as the National Register of Historic Places, The Georgia Historical Society, and Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division,” Singh said. “Her detailed research concluded that there were no cemeteries or burial sites at the project’s location.”
However, James Hundsrucker, the president of a local neighborhood association, the Forsyth Park Community Alliance, is not convinced of the archaeological report’s findings after conducting his own research. Hundsrucker has been in communication with city officials concerning the matter and was copied on the city manager’s June 28 email concerning the second potential bone discovery. He has been trying to get the full report by S&ME, Inc. after Left Lane provided only three of at least 24 pages of the study to the city, based on the page numbers (1,7,24).
Hundsrucker said that he had to obtain the initial police report through an open-records request to learn why police were at the site when the first bone was discovered in December. Soon after, Hundsrucker said he discovered the city’s 2021 report on Savannah’s early burial grounds, which describes the creation in the 1840s of two new cemeteries in the area to replace “Strangers Burial Ground” and “Negro Burial Ground” that had been overcrowded. While the city has been unable to locate the survey for the new cemeteries, records indicated that they were located “south of the hospital” between Drayton and Abercorn east of present day Forsyth Park, according to the city’s report. The report says those cemeteries were later moved to Laurel Grove Cemetery in 1855.
Hundsrucker thinks the remains discovered at the hotel site could potentially be from the cemeteries after researching their locations via property deeds, meeting minutes and other historical records. He said he does not claim this to be fact, but with the results of the GBI tests still pending and the hotel commissioned full archaeological report unavailable, he is concerned that more potential remains may have been trucked out due to the ongoing construction.
The hotel commissioned study said that Savannah Morning News articles from 1885 and 1887 tell that the cemetery near the project area was south and east of the hospital and has streets and homes built upon it.
“No cemeteries are documented in the Project Area on the reviewed maps,” the study states.
Following publication of this article, Left Lane’s spokesperson said that the full report was not being provided because it is proprietary and they may be using part of the study for a future project related to Savannah’s history.
Meanwhile, hotel officials say the site preparation is now compete and the developer is in the final phase of the renovation and expansion project, with the opening of the resort set for February 2024
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