Alabama Football at Auburn 2013 Iron Bowl

Fans rush the field after the No. 1 Alabama at No. 4 Auburn Iron Bowl NCAA football game on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com

AUBURN, Alabama -- Auburn's epic Iron Bowl win led to fans storming the field and at least one temporary resting place for the cremated remains of someone who might have once been an Auburn fan.

The remains were discovered near the 40-yard line along the Auburn sideline inside Jordan-Hare Stadium on Monday, two days after the Tigers' 34-28 victory against Alabama in the Mother of all Iron Bowls.

Auburn officials are not sure if the remains are human, but bone fragments were discovered scattered within the ashes.

"It could have been grandma or it could have been grandma's dog," said Scott McElroy, associate professor for turfgrass and weed science at Auburn University.

Auburn turf and grounds director Eric Kleypas' crew discovered the remains while cleaning and repairing Pat Dye Field, where thousands of fans celebrated a victory in the final seconds against Alabama on Saturday night. McElroy saw the remains for the first time at 11 a.m. on Monday.

Auburn officials believe this is not the first time a fan has dumped the remains of a former family member on the field.

The cremated remains were discovered following Auburn's 34-28 victory against Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Auburn officials are not sure if the remains are human. (@auburnturf/Twitter)

"It happens a lot more than you think," McElroy said. "People want their final resting place to be Jordan-Hare Stadium.

McElroy is not certain what the grounds crew did with the remains, which have since been removed from the field. Kleypas was not available for comment.

"You don't know if it's human. Hopefully it's not," McElroy said. "Hopefully it's someone's long loved pet."

Cremated remains can quickly kill the grass and contaminate the soil, so the turf and grounds crew removed the grass and two to three inches of soil at the spot Monday.

"People think this is the last resting place and I'm doing a good thing by putting out organic matter on the field, but it's actually quite detrimental to the grass," McElroy said.

Auburn officials were busy Monday cleaning the field, which was littered with thousands of orange pom-pom shakers and discolored and damaged by the fans trampling the playing area after Chris Davis' 109-yard return of a missed field lifted the Tigers to victory.

"They weren't cleaning up in anger, they were cleaning up in joy," McElroy said of the grounds crew.

Bushes along the sideline and the south end zone were damaged as fans charged the field, creating "cow trails" among the broken branches, McElroy said. Flower beds in the southeast corner were also destroyed, but that can be repaired by simply replanting the flowers.

"There was some damage but no one was badly hurt as far as I know and it was a good celebration," McElroy said.