A human skull has been dredged up by oyster fishermen in Chichester Harbour. Fishermen Edwin Stokes and Allen Longland looked on in disbelief as the relic was pulled up from the seabed along with their usual haul.
A human skull has been dredged up by oyster fishermen in Chichester Harbour.Fishermen Edwin Stokes and Allen Longland looked on in disbelief as the relic was pulled up from the seabed along with their usual haul.
The pair landed the skull as they fished in their boat, the Bolt Head Queen, in the Emsworth Channel, off the south eastern tip of Thorney Island. The skull was covered in anemones and still had four teeth intact, although the jaw bone was missing.
Mr Stokes said: 'I was surprised – I have been fishing there for 30 years and I have never seen anything like that come out with a dredge. 'The first thing we said was "You don't often catch one of these". “It looked quite old to me. I think the fact that there are still teeth shows it has been preserved or buried”. Mr. Stokes, of Almodington, near Chichester, said: “People are saying it could have been an airman shot down during the war who was never reported. Who knows? It's a complete mystery at the moment”.
The skull found by fishermen Edwin Stokes, left, and Allen Longland in the Emsworth Channel off Thorney Island while they were dredging for oysters Archaeologist Margaret Rule, who led the project to excavate the Mary Rose, believes the skull could be several hundred years old.
She said human remains of French prisoners of war had been washed up at Portchester, but she had never seen them at Thorney Island.
She added: 'I can't think of anything other than a burial at sea. It has probably washed up from deeper water. 'The teeth look fairly well grounded down, which suggests some age. There's nothing to suggest it was recent. Signs of a brow ridge would suggest it is male”.
By Jeff Travis