Resolved UK - Whitstable, Kent, Multiple Remains in bags, Jan'19 - historic/middle age

[Gracie55]

Maybe. And yes, no skulls that we know of. I'm sure forensics will be able to tell at what point the cuts were made. It's just SO weird!

The picture on an attachment in a previous post had what looked like skull pieces.

 

[Gracie55]

Another thing I noticed in an article above, I think this used to be below the dry beach line. Could be important.
Was there a funeral home somewhere around? Maybe the crematory furnace was broken. Seems like something similar happened somewhere maybe the states awhile back I vaguely recall, bodies stacking up inside facility though.

 

[Legally Bland]

Just browsing through the planning docs, there's 85 of them and I'm sure most won't be of interest.

CA//18/01111 | Details submitted pursuant to conditions 03 (construction management plan), 06 (external materials), 07 (external flues, vents, grilles, pipes and ducts), 08 (rooflights), 12 (archaeology - partial approval), 13 (foul and surface water disposal), 17 (tree survey and protection), 18 (landscaping plan), 21 (external lighting), and 24 (levels) of appeal decision APP/J2210/W/17/3178561 (CA/16/02931/FUL). | Days Yard, Shaftesbury Road, Whitstable, CT5 1DS

Specification for an Archaeological Evaluation:

5. Archaeological & Historical Background Potential
5.1 The site is located in an area of very little known archaeological activity
(Figure 3). The KCCHER data indicated that no archaeology is known within the
proposed development area (PDA) apart from a number of listed buildings in the
vicinity of the PDA.

https://publicaccess.canterbury.gov...ION_FOR_ARCHAEOLOGICAL_EVALUATION-1746568.pdf

ETA: It looks like KCCHER stands for Kent County Council Historic Environment Record.

 

[Legally Bland]

This is from a report dated 21 Jan 2019, so I guess it was these excavation trenches which uncovered the remains:

CCC Archaeology The specification makes provision for the excavation of three 20m evaluation trenches across the footprint of the approved development. This is considered to be sufficient coverage to assess the buried archaeological potential of the site. The document has been prepared in accordance with CCC standardised specifications, and provides appropriate provision for reporting and post-excavation assessment.The document represents a PART APPROVAL of condition 12; full approval will require completion of the archaeological evaluation in accordance with the approved specification,and submission of a summary report. Dependent on the results of the evaluation, further work may be required in respect of Condition 12, to ensure the preservation and/or recording of buried archaeological deposits and features if present.

https://publicaccess.canterbury.gov...pdf/CA__18_01111-DELEGATED_REPORT-2076349.pdf

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Any idea which part of the site the bones were found?

 

[Legally Bland]

Any idea which part of the site the bones were found?

No idea but these are the location of the proposed trenches, I think the bottom one would be right under the lock-ups.

https://publicaccess.canterbury.gov...ION_FOR_ARCHAEOLOGICAL_EVALUATION-1746568.pdf

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Yes that's what I was thinking too, LB, having looked at the plans.

So if we think the lock-ups were there in the 60's and 70's, and bin bags were invented in the 1950's, chances are the bones were put there somewhere in between, decades ago, which means the person who buried them is likely dead by now.

We might never find out!

 

[CoverMeCagney]

A few new facts (new to me, anyway)

• The builders said they have been told the bones had not been there for longer than 10 years.

• Mr Dawkins said there were pieces of skull and leg and arm bones among the findings.

• Records from the local library show the site was Days Garage from at least the 1940s until it was knocked down, thought they do not have a paper trail of the years before.

• Mr Dawkins said: 'Straight away you think "has somebody been murdered?" because there were a lot of bones and they were in black sacks. You think that you're going to be a suspect.'

That last bit is exactly why I think it would be weird for someone to bag up a load of bones and bury them, rather than telling someone and disposing of them properly.

Digger driver tells of his shock at uncovering bones from at least SIX people | Daily Mail Online

 

[CoverMeCagney]

So, if the builders have been told correctly that the bones have been there less than 10 years, where does that leave us?

 

[Legally Bland]

A few new facts (new to me, anyway)

• The builders said they have been told the bones had not been there for longer than 10 years.

• Mr Dawkins said there were pieces of skull and leg and arm bones among the findings.

• Records from the local library show the site was Days Garage from at least the 1940s until it was knocked down, thought they do not have a paper trail of the years before.

• Mr Dawkins said: 'Straight away you think "has somebody been murdered?" because there were a lot of bones and they were in black sacks. You think that you're going to be a suspect.'

That last bit is exactly why I think it would be weird for someone to bag up a load of bones and bury them, rather than telling someone and disposing of them properly.

Digger driver tells of his shock at uncovering bones from at least SIX people | Daily Mail Online

From the link:

'Someone's obviously dug them up from somewhere else and then buried them here. They could be from anywhere.'

Obviously this is further along than just the excavation channels. The area looks to be away from the lock ups, I'm struggling to judge how far back they are.

(Same link.)

 

[Legally Bland]

So, if the builders have been told correctly that the bones have been there less than 10 years, where does that leave us?

Bags less than 10 years old, but bones older?

I'm not sure to be honest.

 

[wary]

So, if the builders have been told correctly that the bones have been there less than 10 years, where does that leave us?

It leaves us asking another question—the people whose bones these are—how long ago did they die?

 

[CoverMeCagney]

From the link:



Obviously this is further along than just the excavation channels. The area looks to be away from the lock ups, I'm struggling to judge how far back they are.

(Same link.)

If that's the spot I'd say it looks like it's in the carpark (ie not under a building), but I also can't tell which side of the smaller gate they're on.

Do you think that main yard (with the lock ups and the big building) is part of the same business. There is a gate between that yard and the smaller yard directly behind the row of buildings. There is also an entrance to Days Garage on the other side of that row, on Oxford Street

Google Maps

 

[SandyQLS]

So less than 10 years ago, someone dug a hole there to bury the bags of bones. Was that section then paved over with asphalt for the car park or locked storage? That's something old Mafia organized crime in the US does because they own construction companies - supposedly they bury bodies and then construct buildings on top of them. Interesting they mention the Kray twins in that article.

 

[Legally Bland]

If that's the spot I'd say it looks like it's in the carpark (ie not under a building), but I also can't tell which side of the smaller gate they're on.

Do you think that main yard (with the lock ups and the big building) is part of the same business. There is a gate between that yard and the smaller yard directly behind the row of buildings. There is also an entrance to Days Garage on the other side of that row, on Oxford Street

Google Maps

Not sure about being the same owner/business, but there's a site plan here:

https://publicaccess.canterbury.gov...1_-_LOCATION_REV0070126460000.PDF-1743609.pdf

Which I think is roughly something like this:

Days Yard - Google My Maps

 

[CoverMeCagney]

OK, so are those two tiny squares on the site map the same as the manhole covers (?) on the picture of the builders. Looks like it, maybe!

 

[SandyQLS]

Hello, Brits. No updates in your news about these fascinating bones?

 

[Elainera]

Bones of 'six bodies' buried in black bags

Article is not new. Just bringing a few more photos here. Can you make out the spot where the bones were found from the one where the workers look down into the newly dug hole?

 

[Mrs Marple]

Wondering when more news will be released.

I wonder if they were found previously by builders who didn't want to delay so they put them in bags. I've heard of this happening from a builder friend.

Also ancient bones have been found in Whitstable before:

Human remains believed 'historic'

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Wondering when more news will be released.

I wonder if they were found previously by builders who didn't want to delay so they put them in bags. I've heard of this happening from a builder friend.

Also ancient bones have been found in Whitstable before:

Human remains believed 'historic'

I think a slapdash builder is a definite possibility, odd that there are no updates though!