Authorities are trying to determine the identity of a human skull found at a construction site for a new elementary school in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Sheriff Bobby Shirley says the skull was found Thursday as crews worked in an area where a drainage pipe was being installed near Charles Town.

Police halted work in the area and Shirley says a search will be conducted for possible additional remains. The property had been an empty field before excavation work began.

Shirley says the site is being handled as a crime scene and police plan to consult registries of missing persons. An anthropologist from Quantico, Virginia has been called in to help with the investigation.