HUMAN remains and bone fragments estimated to be at least 300 years old have been found in at least two Saipan school grounds during excavations done in connection with Verizon’s Year 4 E-rate Communications Wiring System project.
Verizon’s project—which will connect 17 public schools through the latest advances in fiber optic technology to provide Internet access and video teleconferencing—includes multiple excavations to put in place various underground cables.
Through the course of the excavations, Verizon and its contractor MCS, along with the Historic Preservation Office, found four complete human skeletons at Marianas High School and human bone fragments at Hopwood Junior High School.
HPO Director Epifanio Cabrera Jr. said the number of these human remains is expected to increase as excavations continue at the two schools.
“These bones are about 300 years old, but we need to confirm that so we are sending samples to the U.S. for analysis. We are also yet to work on other schools so we expect to have more human bones found,” Cabrera told Variety on Saturday.
A visit at Hopwood Junior High School on Saturday showed various excavation sites where the bone fragments were found.
HPO placed these human bones in plastic bags which remained at the site for recording purposes.
Verizon received a contract from the Public School System to provide over $1.177 million worth of materials and labor to upgrade inside wire and cabling facilities throughout the CNMI school system.
The E-rate is a federally supported program that allows rural schools and libraries to afford the technological necessities that are part of the Information Age.
