Bodies Under Neyland

#54
#54
Dools, Botch and Beldar tried their best to bury the program along with the soldiers. But it appears the reports of UT’s demise cautiously may have been premature.
 
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#55
#55
OldVol said:
I've see this mentioned on here a few times so I thought I'd give a little added history that few are aware of.

We all know the famous line by Kathy Bates in the Blind Side regarding bodies buried under the stadium. That was a reference to the fact that during that time the boxes of bones from the Body Farm that had been decayed and cleaned were stored in cardboard boxes in offices in Neyland. That is no longer the case. In 2017 all of the bones were removed from Neyland and moved to the new Strong Hall. In fact, several times a year they are called on to remove a box of bones so famiies can come visit the remains of their loved ones who generously donated their bodies to science.

That is not where the story originated.

In 1919 construction for what is now Ayers Hall was begun. Shortly after construction began, Brown Ayers, the university president died. His successor began a campaign to have the new administrative building to be named after Ayers.

Before that construction began, because the original building was much smaller, approximately 6 feet had to be removed from the top of The HIll. Roughly 150,000 cubic feet had to be reomved and displaced. Its landing place was the area where Shields Watkins Field and the bleachers along side was also under construction. During the excavation process, on the NW section of the HIll, 6 sets of human remains were found. The bodies were generally considered to be that of 6 Union soldiers who died during the battle of Knoxville. With forensic archeology not being what it is today, little more was done. The assumption was made, however, that there may have been bones of other bodies caught up in the excavations and dumped on the field without anyone knowing it. Without doubt there were fragments of bones and pieces that were not thoroughly searched seeing it was 1919. Some of that would doubtless remain to this day.

Thus began the story that there were bodies buried under Neyland. That assumption, at least to some small degree, is no doubt entirely accurate.

There you have it. The rest of the story.
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Paul Harvey is that you?
Nice story 👍 thanks for history lesson.
Just another story to go with the mystique of Neyland Stadium 🏟
 
#56
#56
OldVol said:
I've see this mentioned on here a few times so I thought I'd give a little added history that few are aware of.

We all know the famous line by Kathy Bates in the Blind Side regarding bodies buried under the stadium. That was a reference to the fact that during that time the boxes of bones from the Body Farm that had been decayed and cleaned were stored in cardboard boxes in offices in Neyland. That is no longer the case. In 2017 all of the bones were removed from Neyland and moved to the new Strong Hall. In fact, several times a year they are called on to remove a box of bones so famiies can come visit the remains of their loved ones who generously donated their bodies to science.

That is not where the story originated.

In 1919 construction for what is now Ayers Hall was begun. Shortly after construction began, Brown Ayers, the university president died. His successor began a campaign to have the new administrative building to be named after Ayers.

Before that construction began, because the original building was much smaller, approximately 6 feet had to be removed from the top of The HIll. Roughly 150,000 cubic feet had to be reomved and displaced. Its landing place was the area where Shields Watkins Field and the bleachers along side was also under construction. During the excavation process, on the NW section of the HIll, 6 sets of human remains were found. The bodies were generally considered to be that of 6 Union soldiers who died during the battle of Knoxville. With forensic archeology not being what it is today, little more was done. The assumption was made, however, that there may have been bones of other bodies caught up in the excavations and dumped on the field without anyone knowing it. Without doubt there were fragments of bones and pieces that were not thoroughly searched seeing it was 1919. Some of that would doubtless remain to this day.

Thus began the story that there were bodies buried under Neyland. That assumption, at least to some small degree, is no doubt entirely accurate.

There you have it. The rest of the story.
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Move over Swamp... We have "The Boneyard".
 
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#57
#57
My dad lived under the stadium in the dorums as a student in the late 60’s I always thought that was cool. He said there was definitely bodies buried there.
 
#58
#58
WillisWG said:
If you say so :)


The University of Tennessee, Knoxville | UT Timeline (utk.edu)
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The first sporting event ever held at the site was baseball, early in the spring of 21. The first football game was not played until September the 24th that same year. We won that game against Emory and Henry 27/0 but we lost the first baseball game to Cincinnati, the score is lost to time. Later track and field was played and even local high schools used the track.
 
#61
#61
I watched a documentary of "The Big Bopper" That died on that plane crash with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. The Dr. Bass of the body farm exhumed the Big Boppers body at the request of his son the Big Bopper jr. It was cool to see that he was thought that highly of to do the research.

In case you are wondering. Bopper Jr. Wanted to dispell rumors his dad survived the crash after causing it by fight on board and tried to get away. After all a pistol registered to Holly was on board. Some people started conspiracy theory because the Big Boppers body was quite a distance of all the other 3 bodies of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the pilot. Bopper jr wanted to clear his dads reputation.

Dr. Bass findings were first as soon as casket was opened Big Boppers appearance was so well preserved that he could easily tell the Bopper jr was kin. But ultimately that the Boppers bones were broken so many places all over his body there is zero % chance he survived the crash.
 
#63
#63
There were stories back in the 70’s and 80’s that there are tunnels and caves that run from downtown under Neyland and across to Cherokee Blvd. Do not know if true or not.
 
#65
#65
The novel, and its title, were inspired by the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, which is used in the study of forensic anthropology, in particular human decomposition. The facility is commonly known as The Body Farm and is located a few miles south of Knoxville, Tennessee, behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The facility was founded by anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass in 1971, after he found that no such facilities existed that specifically studied decomposition.
 

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#66
#66
LadyinOrange said:
The novel, and its title, were inspired by the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, which is used in the study of forensic anthropology, in particular human decomposition. The facility is commonly known as The Body Farm and is located a few miles south of Knoxville, Tennessee, behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The facility was founded by anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass in 1971, after he found that no such facilities existed that specifically studied decomposition.
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Patricia Cornwell is a known and notorious idea thief.
 
#67
#67
OldVol said:
The Vol walk was acutally added by John in 1990. He was inspired by Auburn's Tiger Walk and felt it would be a great idea if we had a similar pep rally at Neyland. It began October 20, third Saturday in October against Alabama. It was a 6/9 loss.
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Wow, I didn't know this. That was my first year after graduating from UT. I came back from AZ to watch that game. My boss was pissed because I called in sick that Monday. He knew I had went back home and wasn't back in time to work Monday. I think someone ratted me out. LOL
 
#69
#69
Volosaurus rex said:
Dr. Bass taught at the University of Kansas and, if memory serves me correctly, Nebraska prior to becoming department head of Anthropology at UT. The Arikara collections would have been acquired during archaeological excavations conducted during that earlier tenure.

The Arikara were the target of the first military action taken by U.S. military forces against any Plains tribe during the Leavenworth Expedition in 1823. Like the Mandan and Hidatsa, they suffered severe depopulation as a result of the smallpox epidemic of 1837-1838, which facilitated Lakota westward expansion. And, yes, the Arikara were commonly referred to as Rees during the 19th century.
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Thanks, that makes a lot of sense now. The Arikara/Ree were driven from their ancestoral homelands, Southeast of the Missouri by the Sioux. I'm sure they studied the entire region.
 
#71
#71
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#72
#72
OldVol said:
I've see this mentioned on here a few times so I thought I'd give a little added history that few are aware of.

We all know the famous line by Kathy Bates in the Blind Side regarding bodies buried under the stadium. That was a reference to the fact that during that time the boxes of bones from the Body Farm that had been decayed and cleaned were stored in cardboard boxes in offices in Neyland. That is no longer the case. In 2017 all of the bones were removed from Neyland and moved to the new Strong Hall. In fact, several times a year they are called on to remove a box of bones so famiies can come visit the remains of their loved ones who generously donated their bodies to science.

That is not where the story originated.

In 1919 construction for what is now Ayers Hall was begun. Shortly after construction began, Brown Ayers, the university president died. His successor began a campaign to have the new administrative building to be named after Ayers.

Before that construction began, because the original building was much smaller, approximately 6 feet had to be removed from the top of The HIll. Roughly 150,000 cubic feet had to be reomved and displaced. Its landing place was the area where Shields Watkins Field and the bleachers along side was also under construction. During the excavation process, on the NW section of the HIll, 6 sets of human remains were found. The bodies were generally considered to be that of 6 Union soldiers who died during the battle of Knoxville. With forensic archeology not being what it is today, little more was done. The assumption was made, however, that there may have been bones of other bodies caught up in the excavations and dumped on the field without anyone knowing it. Without doubt there were fragments of bones and pieces that were not thoroughly searched seeing it was 1919. Some of that would doubtless remain to this day.

Thus began the story that there were bodies buried under Neyland. That assumption, at least to some small degree, is no doubt entirely accurate.

There you have it. The rest of the story.
Click to expand...
every once in a while the planets align and we get a Coach that fields a team that would prob lose to the Corpses. Pruitt was that sorry.
 
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#73
#73
OldVol said:
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense now. The Arikara/Ree were driven from their ancestoral homelands, Southeast of the Missouri by the Sioux. I'm sure they studied the entire region.
Click to expand...


As semi-sedentary horticulturists, the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa were all in the direct line of "fire" when steamboat traffic began on the Upper Missouri in 1832. Smallpox was transported upstream by the St. Peter's in 1837 from Fort Pierre to Fort Union and significantly impacted most of the Upper Missouri tribes, except for the Crow and Lakota. With their main village located only 1/4 mile from Fort Clark, the Mandans were virtually exterminated, suffering roughly 90% fatalities.
 
#74
#74
In regard to the Indian Mound at the Ag Farm, does anyone know if they've ever age tested the huge white oak that sits on the Mound. I've read articles that state that it witnessed the dawn of the nation, was there during the revolution and of course witnessed the Civil War. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows the approximate age of the Morgan Tree.
 
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