VCU researchers work to learn origins of over 400 human bones found in a well in 1994: "It's horrible to think about"

Sarah Rose took a scalpel and carefully scraped off the dark brown outer layer of a 200-year-old femur and collected the specks in a plastic box. By the shape of the bone, she could tell this man or woman - it's hard to say by looking - had well-defined muscles. Maybe this person worked a labor-intensive job, Rose said. Maybe this person was enslaved.

Rose's eyes are focused. This isn't the first time the Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student has worked with human remains.

She's been trained not to think about the tragedies the people endured that led to their bodies being inspected by a forensic scientist. She tries to concentrate on the task at hand, grinding down a small portion of the bone to conduct DNA analysis.