NATCHEZ — Tabitha Wroten was so disturbed Sunday evening by a photo of a skull someone posted on Facebook, claiming the photo was taken at the Natchez City Cemetery, she decided to investigate for herself.

Wroten, who lives at Weymouth Hall across Cemetery Road from the city cemetery, said a friend posted a photo of a skull and what appeared to be bones on the ground near a pile of dirt from a freshly dug grave at the cemetery.

“I thought it was fake,” Wroten said. “I looked outside and saw there was a little bit of daylight left, so I went to take a look for myself. I really thought they were lying.”

However, when Wroten arrived at the site, she was shocked at what she saw.

“It was a full grave, like they were getting ready to bury someone,” she said. “Next to it was a pile of dirt with carpet over part of it, and beside it was a skull. I really didn’t think I was going to see anything there. And there was something long next to it in the dirt. I think that was a leg bone or something.

“It looks like they just dug it up and threw it to the side. I almost fainted,” Wroten said.

Catherine Ratcliffe, president of the cemetery’s board of trustees, said the situation is unfortunate, but one that happens from time to time.

“All I can tell you for sure is that the Natchez City Cemetery is 193 years old and the space in question is in one of our older parts of the cemetery and our records are not always completely adequate,” Ratcliffe said. “Our records showed no one was buried there, and our employees were digging a grave, preparing for a burial. Obviously, the men did not see it, but dug the remains up.”

She said the remains have been re-buried.

“Our protocol is to respectfully rebury the remains where they were found,” she said.

She said the cemetery has no way of knowing whose remains were accidentally dug up. “We have no records of anyone being buried there.”

Many years ago, pine boxes were often used as caskets, and “those deteriorate. It’s part of being a cemetery. From time to time, we’re going to run into something like this.

“The unfortunate thing is that whoever took the picture and put it on Facebook, didn’t notify us,” Ratcliffe said. “Our men — our employees — are devastated. The two men who were digging the grave each have been with us for more than 15 years. I am amazed, still, at the respect they show to each family they bury. They stop and say a prayer for them, at each grave they dig. For this to have blown up like this, they are devastated.”

She urged anyone who sees anything unusual at the cemetery, to please notify cemetery employees or board members.

“We, the employees and the directors of the cemetery are faithful stewards of the cemetery. We treat all people, living and dead, with dignity. If we had known about this, we would have done everything in our power to prevent this kind of issue from happening.”

She said the cemetery board would investigate the incident further.

“We are looking into how this came about. It’s not something that occurs everyday, and when it does occur, it’s mainly in the older part of the cemetery,” Ratcliffe said.