BUILDERS have unearthed what appear to be the oldest human remains ever to be found in Malmesbury.

Workmen discovered the two skeletons last Thursday morning (October 27) as they began to dig foundations for an extension to a conference room at the Old Bell Hotel, in Abbey Row.

The findings led to work being immediately halted while police and then archaeology experts were called in to examine the skeletons.

Police quickly established the bodies, thought to be of an adult and a child, are hundreds of years old, leaving a criminal investigation uneccessary.

The following morning Malmesbury historian John Bowen was joined by the county council's chief archaeologist Roy Canham in examining the remains.

Samples from the remains were also removed for radio carbon dating to be completed to help more acurately establish their age.

The positioning of the bodies within the grave, which is next to the wall separating the hotel from the Cloister Gardens at the rear of Malmesbury Abbey, is a clear giveaway of their age, according to Mr Bowen.

He said: "Christian burials are always east to west. Pre-Christian burials, however, are very often put at any angle you should wish.

"These two skeletons are parallel to one another but they are south-west to north by north-east in alignment, in fact they are on a diagonal to an east to west burial."

The grave is definitely within the abbey's original precincts, added Mr Bowen.

And, because the first abbey was built in Malmesbury in 675AD the positioning of the bodies makes it clear the burial must back before that time.

Mr Bowen added: "One will obviously take a quantum leap and say they are most likely to be of a pre-Christian age. It would appear they could have been a Roman or a pagan burial before the 7th century.

"This may not be Roman, it may just be pre-historic but we really don't know yet."

With archaeological discoveries already having dated Malmesbury to 1500BC, it is possible the bodies could pre-date Roman times.

Mr Bowen added: "We've had 1,300 years of Christianity in Malmesbury but the town was so much older than that before it was Christian."

The Old Bell's manager, Simon Haggarty, said the bodies will stay in what is their official burial place but have now been covered with a metal plate to protect them in the future as work on the building's extension is completed.

He said: "It is sort of exciting but to be honest we are glad they said yes, carry on."