Richard Mikulski of CAU excavating the remains. Credit: Cornwall Council
The remains of a human skeleton that were discovered on a footpath on the north Cornish coast may have belonged to a shipwrecked sailor.
Following a call from a member of the public, Cornwall Council’s Strategic Historic Environment team was recently alerted to the discovery of skeletal human remains near Trevone, overlooking Newtrain Bay, near Padstow.
As always in such cases, Devon and Cornwall Police and the coroner were notified. Detectives and forensic officers attended the scene and determined the remains were historic and therefore the area was not considered a crime scene.
A license to excavate the remains was obtained and a bone specialist from Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) carefully removed the bones.
It is not unusual to find such remains along the Cornish coast, particularly on the north coast following stormy weather and cliff falls. In this case, the remains had been exposed from constant wear on the footpath.
“The remains were located beside an area that is popular for memorial benches and floral tributes and were clearly visible within the coastal path. It was important to act swiftly, first to determine that they were archaeological in nature and then to carefully remove the remains, showing dignity to the deceased and to avoid any distress to visitors to the spot,” said Ann Reynolds, senior officer for the rural historic environment at Cornwall Council.
It's now thought the remains may have belonged to a shipwrecked sailor and could date back more than 200 years. Initial investigation has shown that the remains were of an adult, cut off just above the knees, potentially by the construction of an adjacent hedge. Two bones have shown heavy wear patterns, suggesting an exceptionally well-developed upper body muscle mass. This may indicate a life of hard labor, pulling, pushing and lifting.
“Given the location of the remains on the cliff and near the notoriously dangerous approach to Padstow Harbour, it is possible that they are of a shipwrecked sailor, and if so, potentially date to before 1808, after which the Grylls Act decreed that drowned remains washed ashore should be buried in consecrated ground,” said Reynolds.
Further analysis of the remains will take place before an appropriate reburial.
The Grylls Act or the Burial of Drowned Persons Acts 1808 and 1886 is an act of Parliament that decrees that all bodies washed ashore from the sea should be buried in consecrated ground. Prior to the act, remains were buried unceremoniously on the nearest cliff to the spot the deceased came ashore. The bill was drafted by Thomas Grylls, a Cornish solicitor, following the wreck of the frigate HMS Anson off Loe Bar in 1807.
Republished courtesy of Cornwall Council.