In 1971, it was decided that Östra Kyrkogatan would be extended over the Ume River, adding a third bridge to the city, Kyrkbron. At the commencement of construction, a grave field next to the church was discovered. In accordance to the Antiquities Act ("Swedish": Fornminneslagen), construction was halted the summer of 1972, until the area had been investigated by archaeologists. The original boundaries of the cemetery were unknown and there was no registry or map. The excavation unearthed forty coffin graves with approximately sixty skeletons. In the last grave a legible name plate revealed that it was a family grave for the governor Pehr Adam Stromberg. No tombstones were found. It is believed that a tombstone was destroyed in the fire of 1888, and all documentation of the family grave was destroyed in the fire as well. After the remains were examined, they were returned to the church in plastic bags. The church janitor buried plastic bags without documenting the exact site, and a short time later, he died.