Bones dated

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Nov 25, 2008

BONES unearthed in Durham earlier this year are believed to be 300 years old.

Two complete skeletons and a host of other bones and items were found at St Nicholas Church, in Durham city centre, as engineers replaced gas pipes in April.

Now a report into the dig by Tyne & Wear Museums Archaeology service, released yesterday, has shed some light on the items.

The discovery was described as important by North East archeologist Jonathan McK-elvey, who carried out the investigation.

He said: "The skeletons were of a man aged above 22 and a toddler. The fact they were buried inside the church suggests they would have come from quite a wealthy family."