Photo provided PROJECT PAUSED —Dozens of tiny pink flags mark "anomalies" ground penetrating radar detected at a Steubenville construction site that more than a century ago had been a cemetery.

STEUBENVILLE — Woda Cooper Companies is trying to find a state-certified archaeological consultant to “hand-dig” areas of concern at a Washington Avenue construction site after grave markers from a long-forgotten cemetery were recently uncovered, Steubenville City Councilman Tracy McManamon said Monday.

Woda is building a 50-unit senior housing complex on a 2.5-acre parcel that at one time had been a Catholic cemetery. A contractor who had been prepping the site for construction uncovered the gravestones a week ago, sparking concerns that some bodies might have been left behind when it was closed in the 1880s. Ground-penetrating radar run Thursday detected anomalies warranting closer inspection — possibly around 20 locations, though at least 70 small pink flags were counted in the dirt on Friday.

Interment records have not been located. The Diocese of Steubenville wasn’t formed until decades after the closure, so authorities in Columbus have been asked to check their records for burials there.

McManamon said Woda’s principals and the CEO of the construction company are slated to appear at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“What I was told … (is) they aren’t going to do anything until they find out what’s in the ground,” McManamon said. “They said to me several times they’re going to do this in a very dignified manner — right now, they’re looking for a state cemetery-approved archaeologist to dig and the digging will be done by hand. It all has to be run through the state now, it’s a historical site. (The archaeologist) will actually hand-dig the areas of concern.”

City Attorney Costa Mastros said Monday it “is a private matter and we are monitoring the situation, as we have issued a building permit and our position at this point is just to monitor (it).”

McManamon, though, said it’s important to remember that those stones could mark the final resting place “of somebody’s brother or father or uncle …”

He cautioned that GPR finding anomalies doesn’t necessarily mean the anomalies are graves or bones.

“It just means that they show areas of concern — they could be just empty holes, it doesn’t mean there are bodies there. It just means the radar showed (an anomaly) that they want to investigate further to make sure nothing’s there. It could turn out to be anything, including a tree stump.

“They deserve a proper burial,” he said. “It’s about dignity and respect for life, being able to visit and pray for our loved ones who have gone before us.”