Works on Bucharest car park unearth 400-year old cemetery

Human remains dating back 400 years ago have been discovered on the site of the future underground car park in Universitate area in Bucharest. Work on site was interrupted on Saturday until the remains are analyzed. The discovery will not however alter the car park project. According to archeologists, 40 human skeletons have been discovered in what seems to have been a cemetery located near two churches from the 16th and 17th centuries. The Bucharest Archeology Institute, the National Museum of History and the Rainer Institute of the Romanian Academia have teamed up to analyze the human bones. This is the second archeological discovery since works started on the underground car park downtown Bucharest. The ruins of a 300-year old academia have been recently unearthed, along with water pipes from that period, but the Bucharest city hall has decided to continue works on the car park and said the ruins would be incorporated into the car park project. Earlier this year, the municipality moved the statues across the street from the old University building to a new location and started works on the planned car park. When finalized, the statues will be brought back, with plans to create a small park around them. The car park will be built on two underground levels and it will feature 325 parking places. It will take more than a year to built it so the statues were moved to Izvor park. The car park is being built through a public – private partnership with a consortium made of Terratest Cimentaciones S.L., Alius Inver siones S.L and Simex S.A, which will invest EUR 15 million in the car park and will run it for 49 years. editor@romania-insider.com