Shock at skull and bones find

´HUMAN remains´, including a skull and what are believed to the bones of several different people, have been unearthed during excavation work in Holywood town centre.

The shock discovery was made by workmen, who have been digging trenches over recent weeks in which to lay new underground cables for Northern Ireland Electricity.

Local police and forensic experts were immediately called in to examine the human remains, which were found lying in the shadow of the town´s historic Old Priory Church.

However, it has been established that they could be up to several hundred years old and are probably the disturbed remains of burials in the adjoining Old Priory Graveyard.

It is believed that the original cemetery may have been much bigger than it is now, extending to land which now accommodates local homes and business premises.

Calls have already been made for the remains to be formally laid to rest in a dignified manner in the cemetery where some existing graves date back as far as the 1700s.

But incredibly the skull and bones found there could be even older than that, as it is believed the site has been used for Christian worship and burial for over 1,000 years.

Details of the find were initially revealed to the Spectator by local DUP councillor Gordon Dunne who said he was ´shocked´ to hear of their discovery in the town centre.

The skull and bones were unearthed after Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) began cable laying work at the perimeter of the Old Priory Graveyard in January.