Unearthed human bone remains mystery

The owners of the Hamilton house where the human thigh bone was found say they are "as interested as anyone" to learn the bone's origin. Photo / Christine Cornege

Two children playing at their Hamilton home discovered what could be a 100-year-old human bone.

Sarah Nathan said she was surprised when her children presented her with the bone, which they had found in a dirt bank at their MacDiarmid Rd home in Beerescourt while playing on Monday.

They initially thought it was from an animal but a pathologist said it was a human thigh bone.

"It is just in an area under the house where we store building materials," said Ms Nathan.

"The kids were digging around in the dirt and it was just sticking out and they pulled it out."

Ms Nathan said a kaumatua went to their home yesterday morning and said a karakia to bless the site. Shortly after a Hamilton City Council building inspector checked the site to ensure it was safe for an ESR forensic team to examine the scene.

Ms Nathan said she wanted the dignity of the person's remains respected but was also keen to know the bone's origins. "It's certainly an extraordinary thing that has happened and we will be as interested as anyone ... to learn the origins of the bone and if there are any more remains to be uncovered."

Police are consulting a number of experts who they hope will help aid in determining the age and identification of the bone. Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton of the Hamilton CIB said one of the key challenges faced by the inquiry team was that initial analysis had failed to give any indication of the age of the bone, which appeared to be between 20 and 100 years old.

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

Mr Thornton said the Historic Places Trust has been advised and the bone would be subjected to further analysis by a forensic anthropologist.

He said there were no reports of missing persons or unaccounted for bodies that could be linked to Monday's recovery, nor were there known historical burial sites in the area.