A skull found in a duck pond that sparked a massive potential police murder inquiry has turned out to have belonged to a Roman — and is about 2,000 years old.
The skull was found by a passer-by at the pond in Pear Tree Lane in Fulstow, Louth, before Lincolnshire Police attended the scene to carry out further investigations on June 16 this year. At the time, large tents were erected whilst forensic teams carried out a thorough examination of the scene.
According to an article in June this year which appeared on the Grimsby Live news website, investigators examined the area in an effort to try to establish any link with people on the Missing Persons Register. There was also work by pathologists to try to match it with DNA lists kept by the National Crime Agency of people known to be missing.
But it has now been confirmed that the skull is actually of Roman origin, with the person thought to have lived between AD276 and 342. Officers thanked everyone for assisting in their inquiries and the matter has now been passed to a local archaeologist.
In a statement, officers said: "Forensic examination has concluded that a skull found in a duck pond in Louth is from the Roman period. Our officers and a team of forensics attended the pond at Pear Tree Lane in Fulstow on 16 June following a report of a skull in a duck pond. The skull was sent off for further examination. The results have now come back."
Detective Inspector Richard Nethercott added: “The results tell us that the remains are not modern, and it is likely that this individual was alive during the Roman period, between AD 276 and 342. I would like to thank everyone who assisted with the investigation and thank the person who reported this to us. The skull will be transferred to a local archaeologist."
There were no theories as yet as to how the Roman came to their sticky end, how the skull ended up in a duck pond minus any other bones, or whether foul play has been suspected.
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