Mystery of bones found in Lidgate, between Newmarket and Haverhill, probed by local historians anxious for answers

On a summer day in the mid-1980s, two boys playing in the dried up bed of a stream in a Suffolk village made a gruesome discovery.

Moments later, Janet Mitson’s son burst into the house yelling: “Mum, Mum, there’s a skellington in the ditch.”

“I didn’t believe him,” says Janet. “I thought it must be something like a football someone had drawn a skull on, not a real skeleton. But I went to look, and yes … it was.”

Embedded in the bank of the eight foot deep stream she could see what were obviously human bones, which appeared to be upright. “We could see the skull, teeth and eye sockets, and the shoulders. And that’s how we knew it was standing up.

“I’m not sure exactly what year it was, but my son must have been very young, probably around seven, because I remember he said ‘skellington’ not skeleton. He had been playing with another little boy. He was quite excited but a bit frightened as well.

“I spoke to my then neighbours on the other side of the stream, and they said there had been another one, and that the police had already been and taken that. I didn’t see anything more - I didn’t see the police come.

“But I took a photo of the skeleton and I’m so glad I did because I thought no-one would have believed me otherwise,” said Janet, who still lives with her husband next to the stream in Lidgate, near Newmarket, where the bones were found. She has kept that small, fading, black and white print ever since.

Shortly afterwards, the local council shored up the bank of the stream with metal barriers to prevent further erosion. It has been assumed the second skeleton was also taken by the police. Or could it still be there, hidden behind the barrier?

No-one knows, because there the trail goes cold. It was the last anyone in Lidgate ever heard about it. No police record has been found of either skeleton. And there is no other clue to what happened to them.

More than three decades passed, and memories faded. Then a few years ago the enigma of the vanishing bones sparked the curiosity of the freshly-formed Lidgate Archaeology Group, whose members include Janet.

The group has been working to uncover more about the rich history of the village, especially that surrounding its castle - of which one ruined gatehouse wall remains - and medieval settlement.

They asked experienced amateur archaeologist Chris Michaelides, who lives in the village, to delve into the mystery of the skeletons. She embarked on painstaking and rigorous research and wrote a detailed report which the group has posted on its website.

But as to what happened to the skeletons, she drew a blank. It appears no record was ever made of the find, so any archaeological significance they might have had looks to be lost forever.

And to the local history enthusiasts now wanting to dig deeper into Lidgate’s past that is probably the most frustrating thing.

A brief entry in the Suffolk Historic Environment Record says two undated skeletons were seen in a river bank, that at least one was removed by the police, but it is uncertain if the other one was.

It is the sole official record of the discovery - but was only created in 2019 when Suffolk Archaeological Service was first approached with questions about the skeletons, and is simply based on what they were told at that time.

Following a request from the Free Press, Suffolk police checked back for any mention of the bones.

A spokesperson said: "We have looked into this but have been unable to find any further information on this particular find."

In another frustrating twist, things would have been different had the bones been found now.

For a start, if the remains were old, Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service would have automatically been told.

James Rolfe, senior archaeological officer, said: “If human remains are found by the public the police will be the first responders.

“The remains will be assessed to ascertain the general age of the burial and if it is not modern Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service (SCCAS) will be informed.

“If it is on a building site the developer will then have to pay for professional archaeologists to excavate the remains.

“Once the remains have been excavated and analysed a report would be written and submitted to the Historic Environment Record and the remains would then be deposited in an archaeological store which would allow future research.

“In this case I have no idea what happened to the human remains. SCCAS did not examine the remains.

“I can find no record that SCCAS were ever consulted by the police and we only created the Historic Environment Record entry in 2019 when we were first made aware of the discovery by a member of the public. It is the only record we have.”

He said the procedure would be different now. “SCCAS were not consulted back then, and we are routinely consulted now, with the last case being in June this year at Needham Market.”

Meanwhile, if old human remains are found on an archaeological excavation, the archaeological contractor will have to apply for a licence from the Home Office to remove them.

They must be recorded in situ, then lifted, packed and marked to standards compatible with those described in current guidance from a range of expert organisations.

So the Lidgate mystery has only become more baffling. It is not just long time residents like Janet, and Anthony Foreman who has written books on the village’s history, who are fascinated.

Tim Brightwell, a relative newcomer, hopes to show Janet’s photo to experts at Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

But there are so many questions that will now probably never be answered. The only certainty is they were not recent victims of crime.

But how old were they? Were they truly ancient dating back thousands of years, because the area was inhabited from prehistoric times.

Did they date from the era of Lidgate Castle, built by Norman invaders and in use until the 13th century? The spot where they were found is not far from the base of the mound where the castle stood. Or were they more recent? There is no way of telling.

The skeletons appeared to be upright. But were they buried that way, or had they shifted over time?

Upright burials are incredibly rare. Chris’ research revealed one well documented case, dated to around 4900 BC, found in a Mesolithic cemetery in Germany.

“There are possibly four similar burials known in Karelia, Russia, but in all cases there is no firm indication as to why the burial presented in this way,” she says.

In her report Chris explores various options of how the skeletons might have ended up where they did. To read Chris Michaelides’ full report go to https://lidgatearchaeology.org/

Might they be the bones of people who drowned in the mere that following a LIDAR survey and sampling for the archaeology group is now thought to have existed in the area in medieval times?

Chris followed up a suggestion that upright burials might have been a Romany tradition but could find no evidence this was the case.

She concludes it is most likely the bones would have originally had a standard horizontal burial or been put into a pre-existing pit. “A vertical grave is so much harder to dig than a traditional one,” she says.

There is evidence that the routes of watercourses in Lidgate were changed in the past so the current stream might have impinged on the burial site.

Or the bodies could have been buried further upstream and the bones washed into the position where they were found.

“The long term natural or artificial movement and disturbance of soil over time could have led to movement of the bones, explaining the disturbed nature of the skeletons - and their eventual location,” she adds.

“Unfortunately we don’t know where the bones are now. We do know where they were found however - and in archaeology the context of any find is vital.

“Their location near the castle, and in a site of possible early medieval landscape and watercourse reorganisation, is of interest.

“It is hoped that the future planned archaeological investigations near to the site will provide evidence that will help us learn more.

“Unfortunately we don’t know where the bones are now. We do know where they were found however - and in archaeology the context of any find is vital.

“Meanwhile, archaeology increasingly realises the need to be respectful of all human remains, from any date.

“We don’t know who they were, where or when they lived - but we do know that they could have been someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, son or daughter and though their tale is as yet unknown they can still speak to us across the years.”

If you can shed more light on what happened to the Lidgate skeletons please email barbara.eeles@iliffepublishing.co.uk