Human Skeleton Discovered in Coffin Along Chesapeake Bay

CALVERT COUNTY, Md. — A nearly complete human skeleton, believed to be over 100 years old, was discovered in a coffin along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay earlier this month. The remarkable find was made by George Oliver, a local resident, while he was searching for fossils on November 4.

Oliver encountered the submerged coffin during low tide and immediately alerted the Calvert County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities contacted the state’s archaeological society, which examined the site but chose not to disturb the remains. Concerned about the potential loss of the artifact to rising tides, Oliver carefully extracted the skeleton and reconstructed the coffin after digging it out.

“It’s not unusual to find remains that are hundreds of years old along the bay,” said Kelcey Ward, a crime scene technician with the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office. “But finding an intact skeleton in a coffin is incredibly rare.” Ward also noted an unusual defect in the skull, which could indicate trauma, though no definitive conclusions have been made.

The coffin’s origins remain a mystery. Experts estimate the remains are at least a century old, based on the construction of the coffin and the condition of the bones. Both the skeleton and the coffin are set to be reinterred at a local church cemetery.

This marks Oliver’s second discovery of human remains; he previously found a leg bone near the same location about 15 years ago. “It’s a humbling experience to find something like this,” Oliver said. “It makes you wonder about the history that’s been lost to time.”