05 Nov Bone Fragments Found Beneath Law Office in Cagayan de Oro
Last October 18, 2016 construction workers doing renovations for the law office of Atty. James Judith, by accident they uncovered human bone fragments, a frayed leather belt and two beer bottles. The said items were found while the workers were digging up for the foundations of the office. The two beer bottles got hit and broken accidentally during the excavation, had embossed labels namely: Dai Nippon Brewery Ltd. and the other had R& Co. 15.
The curiosities of Atty. Judith lead him to asked help from Dr. Erlinda Burton, a noted anthropologist from Xavier University. Dr. Burton did confirm that the bone fragments were of human origin.
She stated “in my line of work, I have come across so many of these things to be certain that these are indeed human bone fragments.”
After inspecting the site and the items found, they assumed that the bones could be from anyone who lived during the American period from 1898 – 1945. According to Atty. Judith “Although in relation to history, the finds may not be as earth-shattering as that of the prehistoric Huluga but what is intriguing is its historical implications.”
The Dai Nippon beer bottle could probably be from a Japanese brewery founded in 1906 from the initial research of Atty. Judith.
Atty. Judith’s sense of adventure leads him to realize the noted history of the area, particularly the university campus and Hayes Street. The Lucas Hall of Xavier University across his office was occupied by the Japanese Army during World War II. He remembered his conservation with Fr. Bill Nicholson SJ, that tried to playfully scare him off that one of the rooms was used by the Japanese as an interrogation room and as a torture chamber.
There’s still no speculation whether the bone fragments belonged to a Kagay-anon, it could also be from a Spaniard, an American or Japanese.
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