Bones of lost mariners are washed up

Mystery bones that washed up on a Kent beach came from historic shipwrecks, experts have said.

A thigh bone was found on Sandwich Bay, while a leg bone which measured 17 inches (43cm) was found on the esplanade in Margate following storms at the end of last month.

Tony Ovenden, of the Thanet and Sandwich Coastal Finds Facebook group, made the discoveries at Sandwich on May 1 and in Margate on May 4.

“It is all in this particular area. I think the seabed has been disturbed, or there is erosion and shipwrecks are being exposed,” he said.

The bones are being carbon dated to determine their age and “history detectives” from an archaeological society in Canterbury are carrying out examinations.

There is nothing to suggest there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the finds, police say.

A Kent Police spokesman said: “Officers are carrying out inquiries.”