An analysis of items discovered among human bones buried beneath a disused police headquarters hints to 2,000-year-old remains.
PGL, a children’s vacation company, stated that while it is still working to fully comprehend the finds at Newby Wiske Hall near Northallerton, it is formulating plans to highlight the site’s historic legacy by sharing findings with visitors to the activity centre.
The revelations came over two months after workers fixing drains outside the house discovered the remains, which included bones and a human molar, buried around 3ft beneath concrete near what used to be the North Yorkshire Police canteen.
The Ministry of Justice has approved a comprehensive exhumation at the grade II-listed building, which served as the force’s headquarters from 1976 until 2017 before being controversially sold to PGL, which plans to house up to 550 youngsters at a time.
The body has been exhumed and cleaned for study, but the final report is not yet complete and all the findings and dates for the remains are yet to be confirmed.
York Archaeology, the commercial archaeology business of York Archaeological Trust, has determined that pot pieces discovered with the grave are from a coarse ware vessel dating from the Late Iron Age or Early Romano-British eras, which began in 100BC and 43AD, respectively.
Coarse product from the period incorporates ordinary earthenware jugs, dishes and bowls utilized for cooking, capacity and transporting products.
A PGL spokesperson said: “Study of the remains at Newby Wiske Hall is still ongoing, but early examination of the accompanying pottery potentially links it to the Late Iron Age or Early Romano-British period.
“This is very exciting and only adds to significance of this wonderful site. We look forward to learning more and hopefully sharing our findings with visitors in the future.”
Once the studies are complete the human remains will have to be reburied.
John Buglass, a North Yorkshire-based prehistorian who has already examined the corridor and its encompassing region, said the starting discoveries were the beginnings of building up that Newby Wiske is an antiquated settlement.
He said: “It does show that people have been living there for about 2,000 years. We knew there was an Iron Age field system and this would appear to be the people cultivating the land there.”
Mr Buglass said coarse ware pottery items were made using bonfire kilns and the vessel was likely to have been made within 15 miles of Newby Wiske.
He said the initial findings did little to establish the status of the person who was buried, as the burial of such items with bodies remained a grey area.