It was a grisly find for anybody to make - a skull and bone discovered by two schoolboys as they played in a dingy in a river.But the macabre discovery of the human remains has opened up a mystery, as they actually belong to a sub-Saharan African woman - who died more than a 1,000 years ago.
Police called in forensic experts to examine the skull and single bone which were discovered by schoolboys Christian Thompson and Robbie Cribley as they sat in a dingy.
The 13 year-old best friends made the gruesome find - believed to have travelled more than 3,000 miles from Africa - as they played in the River Coln in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in July.
Gloucestershire police said they had identified the remains as being from an African woman, possibly from as early as the ninth century.
They said: 'The remains were recovered and since then a forensic anthropologist has been examining them to help identify when the individual passed away.
'Today it has been confirmed that the remains are that of a woman from Sub-Saharan Africa and are dated between 896AD and 1025AD.'
They added: 'This is, of course, no longer a police matter and it is likely that the remains will be passed on to a museum or University.'
Christian, who lives near to the spot, said: 'We became stuck in some reeds and when we tried to pull the dingy to the bank, I saw the skull by my right foot.
'I asked Robbie if he thought it was a human skull and we both agreed that it was.
'I find it intriguing because we have been studying the Saxons in class.
'They think there is a Saxon burial ground in the area dating back 700 years.
When he made the find Christian said: 'Robbie said he could see a skull and I was so shocked when I saw it too.
'I think someone must have been kidnapped and chucked in the river.'
His father Steve added: 'We're always finding cows teeth and stuff in the river but I've never know something like this to turn up.
'The police didn't even believe it when we rang them too.'
Source: www.dailymai
No comments:
Post a Comment