'Extraordinary' mystery bone discovery

A photo of the bone police are analysing. Photo / NZ Police

A family who live at the Hamilton home where a mystery human thigh bone was discovered have described the find as "extraordinary".

Police said the bone was recovered from a dirt bank under a Macdiarmid Rd house by two residents on Monday.

It was identified as a human thigh bone with an estimated age of between 20 and 100 years old.

Forensic teams and historic and Iwi experts had been called in to further analyse the bone.

Sarah Nathan, who lives at the property where the bone was discovered, said she was surprised to learn it was not from an animal.

It was strange to find her home at the centre of an investigation, she said.

"It's certainly an extraordinary thing that has happened and we will be as interested as anyone else out there to learn the origins of the bone and if there are any more remains to be uncovered."

Mrs Nathan said the unidentified remains needed to be treated with dignity.

An iwi blessing was carried out of the Macdiarmid Rd property this morning ahead of a Hamilton City Council inspection to ensure it is safe to be excavated

Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton said identifying the bone would be challenging after getting an 80-year scope for its age in initial analysis.

"Coupled with that we are not aware of any burial sites or missing persons that could be directly linked to this discovery."