Burial vaults found under park in New York

Construction workers have uncovered two tombs dating back 200 years underneath a New York city park.

The remains of 12 people have so far been found buried together in one of the vaults by contractors for the department of design and construction (DDC) who were digging below Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to replace ageing water mains.

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The Daily Telegraph reports that archaeologists were called to the site, who found skulls and other bones just 3.5 feet below street level.

The first vault had already been discovered in 1965, but bad record keeping meant no one knew where it was.

The second chamber was a new discovery, and contained 20 undisturbed wooden coffins. It has a wooden door hanging by iron hinges guarding it.

DDC commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora said the archaeologists, wishing to cause as little disturbance as possible, will work from a distance with high-resolution cameras and telescope lenses to get new angles on the remains and coffins.

According to the Guardian, photos of a high enough resolution will show a range of biological information, including "dental wear patterns, suture closings on bones", as well as showing "indicators of age and sex" and signs of disease.

Archaeologists have so far counted about 12 skulls among the disarticulated skeletons of the first chamber, but have yet to process all the images from both vaults, the paper adds.