Judge grants permission to exhume more than 90 graves at Fort Bend ISD construction site

SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- Judge John Hawkins has granted Fort Bend ISD permission to exhume the remains found earlier this year at a school district construction site.

RELATED: Workers uncover historic cemetery at Fort Bend ISD construction site in Sugar Land

Investigators say the human remains found at a Fort Bend ISD construction site aren't new, but from the past.

According to Fort Bend ISD, a lab will be set up on site to study the remains.

In all, 94 graves have been found at the construction site, which is located near University Chatham near Highway 6.

Dr. Ken Brown, an anthropology professor at the University of Houston, told Eyewitness News that its not just forensic science that could be of value at the site.

"To me, the forensic study is important, but so is the historical study," Brown said.

Brown and others have been vocal about having someone come in who specializes in knowledge of African American history in Fort Bend. Some believe that the bodies buried at the site could be African American prisoners who were contracted out for labor.

FBISD says it will bury the remains again at the Old Imperial Farm cemetery.