Skeletons found in Nephi may reveal details of 1853 massacre

[NVMojo]

State archaeologists have unearthed a 150-year-old crime scene that could shed light on the slaying of seven American Indians in Nephi.
Archaeologists have excavated seven bodies from a mass grave in downtown Nephi. They say the men were the victims of a killing during the Walker War in 1853.
The skeletons, tangled together in a shallow grave, were discovered last month, when a home builder dug into an old ravine, now filled with about 6 feet of sand, to pour the foundation for a new home.
The bodies lay on top of each other - their bones splintered by bullets that hit some in the head and others in the hip or leg - in a grave just 3 feet wide. Archaeologists also found buttons attached to cloth, glass shards and a copper tube that contained what appeared to be a braid of hair.
Ronald J. Rood, assistant state archaeologist, described the discovery as "extremely important" to the history of how early Utah settlers and American Indians interacted during the state's formative years.


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