Human remains found at Temple University construction site

Construction work at Temple University came to an unexpected halt this week after workers unearthed human remains and fragments of caskets at a site on North Broad Street, part of a planned facility for the university’s Klein College of Media and Communication .

According to CBS News, the remains were found across from Polett Walk during routine site preparation. Temple students expressed surprise at the discovery. “Wow, I can't even believe it,” student Jordan Hall told the outlet. Another student, Vincent Hickman, added, “They keep on putting up fences, more and more fences every day, my walk gets longer every morning.”

However, the university emphasized that the discovery was not unexpected. According to Temple’s official statement, the construction site occupies part of the former Monument Cemetery, which was established in 1837 but later sold in the 1950s to Temple University and the Philadelphia Board of Education .

At that time, the remains were reportedly relocated and reinterred at Lawnview Memorial Park in Rockledge, Pennsylvania.

As per NBC 10 Philadelphia, Temple had prepared for the possibility of unearthing remains due to the site’s known history. The university activated a detailed protocol when the remains were found, halting work immediately and contacting the Philadelphia coroner’s office, medical examiner’s office, law enforcement and their archaeological consultant.


“We followed their guidance to ensure the remains were handled with the utmost care and respect,” said a Temple spokesperson, adding that no further work resumed in the affected area until cleared by authorities.

The university’s archaeological partners visited the site and guided next steps. Temple said it would continue working closely with those experts to ensure any discovered remains are respectfully and properly reinterred.

The ongoing project includes the construction of a new home for Temple’s Klein College as well as its Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts.

While the site’s link to the historic cemetery meant the discovery wasn’t entirely a shock to the administration, it nonetheless stirred interest and concern among students. “Really, I would have never think they were doing something like that,” Hall added.

Temple’s Project Delivery Group said it will maintain ongoing communication with archaeological partners to ensure that all further discoveries are appropriately handled.