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HANNIBAL, MO -- We know more about the human bones found under a Hannibal home last week.

Ever since two neighborhood children found human bones under a house on Paris Avenue Wednesday night, the main question has been where did they come from and how old are they?

Hannibal police say they don't know the age of the bones. But Hannibal historians say the area where this homes sits now used to be an old city cemetery.

You might wonder why a home would sit on an old cemetery in the first place. Historians say back in the 1800's graves were marked with wooden markers, which eventually break down.  It's quite possible the cemetery was forgotton and then sold and developed for housing without anyone ever knowing it was previously a cemetery.

A map showing the cemetery was drawn back in 1854; at at that time it was called the Old Cemetery. So the bones could be more than 150 years old.

But police Chief Lyndell Davis isn't going to guess. The police department is looking into hiring a lab to accurately date the bones, in hopes of proving they're not part of a recent crime.

Chief Davis said, "The information that we've gathered thus far is that this is something that had to be uncovered. It didn't look like this was a recent, that the bones had recently been put in the ground. They've been there for some time by the condition they're in and how the children had found them. So we don't believe this is a recent occurrence. They'd been there for an extended period of time."

Right now police don't suspect any sort of foul play. When testing is completed on the bones, Chief Davis says they'll be turned over to the County Coroner for proper burial.

Chief Lyndell Davis says right now the department is also trying to determine who owns the home.  He says no more digging is planned anytime soon.

It's been a strange couple of weeks for the Hannibal police department, and that means rumors have been flying around town.

You'll remember we told you about another child finding a dead body just south of Steamboat Bend Shopping Center last Saturday.

The city has also dealt with a missing child who was later found and a man who survived after being hit by a train.

The Hannibal Police Department told us they took dozens of calls this morning about the incidents to see if a few or all were related. In fact, we got several calls in our Hannibal newsroom.

We asked Chief Davis about these rumors and if they held any truth. Here's what he had to say.

"We've all heard the speculations and rumors that I am even surprised are going around. There's absolutely nothing we're aware of that would indicate that there is any sort of foul play here (referencing the human remains). The other incident (referencing local man found dead in a Hannibal ditch) is being investigated and that thus far still has not shown any determinations on the individual you're speaking of for that to be foul play, either. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that we had the bank robbery, a missing juvenile, a man found deceased in a creek and these bones. It's just the timing because they happened so close together."

We also contacted Marion County Coroner Peggy Porter. She told us there are no suspicious deaths being investigated in Hannibal at this time.

By the way, the missing teen was found safe and sound.