More bones found under Red House
Red House project liaison officer
Neil Jagessar, right, shows
Housing Minister Dr Roodal
Moonilal and officials of the
Housing Development
Corporation the excavation site
where more bones where found
yesterday. PHOTO: NICOLE
DRAYTON
More bone fragments found under
the Red House last Saturday and
yesterday are being examined by
experts, including those from the
University of Miami, whose
assessment should be completed in
a few weeks. A skull, pelvic bone
and femur were found beneath the
Red house last Saturday and two
more fragments were found
yesterday.
This was confirmed by Udecott and
Parliament officials when Housing
Minister Roodal Moonilal visited
the Red House yesterday to inspect
the areas where the first set of
bones and artefacts were found on
March 25. On that date Udecott
workers involved in the Red House
restoration made the first
discovery in seven-foot deep pits
dug to test the Red House
foundations. Parliament had called
in forensic experts which
confirmed they were human
remains.
The Parliament is in the process of
having the bones carbon-dated to
ascertain the exact age.
Archeologist Peter Harris has
advised the bones and artefacts
may date back to Amerindian
times. Yesterday Moonilal was given
this information and was shown
four of the 16 inspection pits being
dug in and around the Red House
compound and where the bones
and artefacts were found.
Moonilal was told by Parliament
project supervisor, Neil Jagessar,
that part of a skull and pelvic bone
and what appeared to be a femur
(thigh bone), about 12 inches in
length, were found in a pit dug
near the Knox Street side of the
building last Saturday. Those
fragments were the latest found
since the March 25 discovery,
Parliament officials said. Two other
fragments were also found
yesterday, it was confirmed.
Moonilal, who said he had wanted
to take a look at the situation,
quipped: "We have confirmed the
bones are not that of any dead
politician or anyone who's
politically dead but still
alive," Saying the bones might pre-
date the Red House, he added: "The
majority of the bones have been
placed by the Parliament. They
have experts, now being assisted by
the University of Miami and the
archeological unit, looking to date
all of the bones.
"This technical process should take
two or three weeks and then they
would be in a position to say how
old the bones are." Moonilal said it
might be that they pre-date the
early 1900s. He said some of the
backfilling under the Red House
came from along the Priority Bus
Route and it was possible that
backfill contained bone fragments.
"We don't know yet," he added.
Not a crime scene
Moonilal said Homicide detectives
visited the Red House and had
cleared it as a crime scene,
indicating no foul play was
involved concerning the bones. He
said Udecott was on target with
Red House restoration and he was
satisfied with progress.
He said the job, costing over $.5
billion, is projected to be
completed in 2015. Government is
doing paperwork to relocate the
National Security Ministry from
Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain,
to clear the way for construction
of the planned companion building
for the Red House on that site.
