BURLINGTON TONWSHIP, N.J.  —  Federal authorities are investigating how hundreds of gravestones from a veterans' cemetery ended up in a Burlington Township yard.

The Veterans Affairs Department says gravestones from national cemeteries are usually destroyed when they are cracked or damaged.

But authorities say hundreds of tombstones from the Beverly National Cemetery were found as part of the home's landscaping. Some date back to the Spanish-American War.

The U.S. Attorney's Office searched the property on Monday.

The stones, which weigh 230 pounds each, were hauled away on Tuesday.

Authorities have not released the name of the homeowner.