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Secrets of the Dead

Preview | Ben Franklin's Bones

In November 1997, when the skeletal remains of at least 28 bodies were unearthed in the basement of an elegant townhouse, police feared it was the work of a serial killer. But when research indicated the bones actually dated to the mid-1700s, the implications became even more dramatic. This was no ordinary house: 36 Craven Street was the former residence of Benjamin Franklin.

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Learn why Franklin held human skeletal remains in the basement of his British residence.
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