Blockley bones are not prehistoric remains, say experts (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Blockley bones are not prehistoric remains, say experts

HUMAN remains discovered at Blockley are thousands of years younger than originally thought.

Initially said to be late prehistoric, the fragmented bones are now thought to be early modern, dating from the 16th or 17th century.

Workmen discovered them on May 15, while laying service pipes in a JCB-dug trench within the grounds of Dovedale House.

This is the former home of Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill, a relative of Sir Winston Churchill, who made Blockley the first English village with electric lighting.

The workmen telephoned the police and Gloucester County Council's archaeology service which dispatched archeologists who classified the site as ancient.

Some of the bones, along with a piece of 17th century green-glazed pottery found with them, were taken to the archaeology department for examination.

A human bone specialist may be asked to examine them but it could be months before they are accurately dated.

Most of the bones were left in situ, with the site being respected as a burial ground.

Jan Wills, county archaeologist, said there were the remnants of two or three skeletons lying close together in a series of pits.

She said: "The bone we have retrieved is very fragmented. The closest dating evidence we have got for them is somewhere in the 16th or 17th centuries.

"This dating is from pottery found with the burials. They could be later but I don't think it will be any earlier.

"They are not common finds. This is really quite unusual. It's intriguing to speculate why they are there."

Toby Catchpole, archaeology service senior project officer, said there was a similar find on the opposite side of the road during the 1960s which might indicate the area was once a cemetery.

Mr Catchpole said it may also be a plague pit or English Civil War burial.

He said: "We had one complete skeleton that happened to be in a hole that seemed to be directly in line with the JCB trench.

"There were lots of other bones scattered around, so the site may have been used over a long period."

Archaeologists will re-examine the site this week.