Bones Found Near What Was a Sadistic Nazi Research Site

Archaeologists in Berlin have unearthed a large number of human bones from a site close to where Nazi scientists carried out research on body parts of death camp victims sent to them by sadistic SS doctor Josef Mengele, officials said Thursday. Experts have been examining the site in Berlin's upscale Dahlem neighborhood since a small number of bones were found there in 2014 during road work on a property belonging to Berlin's Free University. In the dig they uncovered "numerous fractured skulls, teeth, vertebrae," and other bones, including those of children, Susan Pollock, a professor of archaeology at the university and one of the leaders of the team, says in a statement.

Several of the vertebrae found had traces of glue on them, indicating they may have been parts of skeletons on display, reports the AP. The site is about 325 feet away from what was the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Human Heredity and Eugenics in the Nazi era; notorious Auschwitz physician Mengele as well as others are known to have sent many body parts there for study. It was also known to have a collection of bones from Germany's colonial era, among others. Experts now plan to use osteological identification methods to try to learn more about the newly discovered bones, and should at least be able to determine the general age of the person, their sex, and how many different people's bones were found, Pollock says. Results are expected at the earliest at the end of the year. (More Nazis stories.)