Human remains, including those of a baby, discovered in a building site in Northamptonshire last month could date back to Roman times, archaeologists have said.
Police were called and the building site sealed off after construction workers found human remains at the site, in Main Road, Middleton Cheney, on Friday, December 7.
However, detectives quickly called off a full police probe and alerted historians, who have subsequently carried out a series of tests on the bones.
The study found the remains are likely to date from somewhere between “the Roman and post medieval period”.
It found the remains are from three people: A baby under two years of age, a woman, believed to be older than 45, and a man aged between 35 and 45.
All three remains were found in a single grave, which experts say was positioned in a manner that is consistent with a Christian burial.
Detective Sergeant Sean Arbuthnot, from Northampton CID, said: “All of the initial indications were that the remains had been at the site for a lengthy period of time and the results we have had from the archaeologists confirm this.
“We are still waiting for further results from carbon dating which may give a more precise indication on the age of the remains, but we are satisfied that they are historic and there is no requirement for any further investigation from us.
“We will now be contacting the county Historic Environment Record to inform them of the discovery.”
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