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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Antony Thrower & Seamus McDonnell

Police called after 'human bones' discovered at nature reserve

An investigation has been launched by police after human remains were found at a nature reserve.

Bones were found at the former Red Moss reserve in Bolton on Monday.

Police have established the bones are human and an area of the reserve has been taped off as investigations continue, Manchester Evening News reports.

The reserve is a large area of marshland which is soon set to become a huge housing development.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "Police were called just before 3pm yesterday to an area close to Aspinall Way, Futura Park, Horwich, to a report of bones having been discovered.

Enquiries into the discovery on the marshlands are continuing (STEVE ALLEN)

"The bones have since been confirmed as human and enquiries are currently ongoing. A scene remains in place."

In the 1940s, a worker discovered the skull of a woman at Red Moss which was later dated back 2,000 years.

The skull is thought to have belonged to a 15-year-old girl but much of the history surrounding the find remains a mystery.

The skull of a 15-year-old girl was found in the same area in the 1940s, dating back 4,000 years (Steve Allen / MEN Media)

Last year, human bones found by a dog walker near the River Severn in Gloucestershire were found to be more than 4,000 years old.

The man had spotted the bones in mud and picked them up in a plastic bag.

Carbon dating then established they were from around 2340 BC and 2140 BC.

Gloucestershire Police's Martin Cuffe said: "It was quite a shock to be told that these were dating back to the Bronze Age.

"The age of the bones means that they will not form part of any criminal investigation and with only a small number of bones, we are unlikely to be able to glean much more information about the individual, which is a shame, as it would be interesting to know more about this person, and how they lived."

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