More creepy than criminal, a human skull was unearthed from beneath a backyard in Bethlehem, Pa.
A landscaper digging up shrubs discovered the remains and called police. Officers, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek and others continued digging for more bones into the afternoon.
Lysek said he found other small artifacts but nothing too significant. He said the skull, just 18 inches below the ground, must have risen toward the surface after being there for quite some time.
The coroner didn't immediately expect anything suspicious, and Bethlehem police believe there will be no need for any criminal investigation.
Lysek said similar items have been dug up before in the surrounding area, just 50 yards or so from Moravian Cemetery.
Crime tape surrounding a rear driveway and the backyard's wooden fence provoked a couple of concerned parents to walk by or ask what happened as they picked up children from Moravian Academy, across an alley, later in the afternoon.
When six or seven police cars arrived soon after the discovery, a wayward man looking for police headquarters staggered upon the scene. The headquarters is a half block away on Church Street.
"I thought this was the police station," the man said.
The landscaping company, Tall Timbers, was working at the home owned by Gary Olson and Kathleen Kelly.
Bethlehem police Lt. Joseph Kimock said the skull appeared to be partially cut in half.
"There's probably more we'll find buried back there if they continue to dig," Kimock said. "I don't think it's all that uncommon to find bones buried around."