State Police and the medical examiner are testing the object recovered near the Black Falcon terminal in the Seaport.
BOSTON — Workers cutting into a concrete pier at South Boston’s waterfront found what appears to be a skull Friday morning near the Black Falcon terminal, authorities said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner collected the object, and Massachusetts State Police opened an investigation at the construction site.
The discovery paused work along the busy Seaport pier and shifted the area into an evidence scene as officials worked to determine whether the remains are human and how long they may have been there. The find was reported around the Black Falcon terminal, part of the Flynn Cruiseport Boston complex in the Marine Industrial Park, a zone that sees seasonal cruise traffic and routine maintenance projects. State Police detectives and crime scene technicians responded after construction workers flagged supervisors, who then called 911. Testing by the medical examiner is underway. Authorities have not connected the find to any open case and say it is too early to determine the age, origin or manner of placement.
Witnesses said the object appeared embedded in a chunk of concrete cut from the pier edge. A worker who was on site described the moment crews saw the shape emerge from a slab during saw-cutting. “Always weird to find a skull buried underneath concrete,” said laborer Thomas Friguliette, who watched investigators secure the piece and seal it for transport. Troopers cordoned off a portion of the pier while harbor units and detectives documented the surrounding surface. The medical examiner’s staff removed the object in a rigid container shortly before midday, according to people who were present. Police said initial assessment would focus on confirming whether the object is human bone and whether the concrete encasement occurred during construction or later.
Officials have not released the names of workers or the contractor handling the pier project. A State Police spokesperson said investigators are awaiting forensic analysis and will “follow the facts” once preliminary results indicate whether the material is human. No additional bones were reported found during an initial sweep of the cut area, and authorities did not estimate how long the object may have been in place. The location sits steps from cruise berths used by visiting ships and adjacent industrial buildings. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will evaluate bone morphology and any remaining tissue, if present, and may consult a forensic anthropologist to estimate sex, ancestry and potential age range should the object be confirmed as human remains.
The Black Falcon terminal, known today as Flynn Cruiseport Boston, anchors a stretch of working waterfront built up over a century of shipping and maritime industry. The pier area has undergone repeated repairs and upgrades for cargo and cruise operations. During off-season months, crews frequently saw-cut, patch and reinforce deck surfaces, mooring points and utilities. Finds of historical artifacts and construction debris are not uncommon during such work, but discoveries that resemble skeletal remains trigger automatic notifications to police and the medical examiner. Investigators will consider whether the object could date back decades, whether it might have been introduced during earlier reconstruction, and whether concrete around it shows tool marks consistent with intentional embedding.
Depending on laboratory results, the next steps could include radiography, DNA sampling and checks against missing-person databases. If the material is human, police would compare any DNA profile with national and state indexes and review old reports from Boston and surrounding jurisdictions. Detectives would also examine construction records to identify when sections of the pier were last poured or patched, what companies worked there and whether any anomalies were reported at the time. If the remains are not human, officials are expected to close the case as an unusual construction discovery and release the site back to the contractor. As of Friday night, police had not announced any public safety risk, and operations in other parts of the terminal were not affected.
On the pier late Friday, workers loaded tools while a small crowd watched from behind tape as the last evidence markers came up. Harbor air carried the sound of traffic from nearby Drydock Avenue and the hum of cranes at neighboring berths. A longshoreman shook his head as crews wrapped up. “You never expect something like that around here, but this is an old pier,” he said. A terminal employee said the area would remain blocked off until investigators clear it. By early evening, the concrete section where the object was found was covered, and a guard posted at the access point said the work zone would stay secured overnight.
Authorities said the object is in the custody of the medical examiner for testing this weekend. Police expect to provide an update after the initial determination on whether the skull is human and, if so, whether any identifiable features can be developed. No timetable for results was released, but the next formal update is expected after laboratory screening and imaging are complete. The affected slice of pier remains closed to construction while investigators review site photos and measurements taken Friday.
Author note: Last updated November 22, 2025.