8 skeletons removed from Peoria library site

PEORIA -- Eight sets of human skeletal remains have been removed by archaeologists excavating the site of a public library addition in Peoria.

Midwest Archaeological Research Services workers have found the remains of 135 people. The land planned for the library addition was a cemetery in the 1800s. More than 300 graves were moved when the cemetery closed in 1875. No one knows how many remain.

Peoria Public Library spokeswoman Trisha Noack says the eight sets of remains were removed in the past week. Noack says archaeologists plan to return this week to look into three or four other sites.

Illinois law requires that remains be removed and turned over to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency for possible identification.