Ancient human remains that turned a couple's home renovation into a crime investigation have finally been laid to rest — with the homeowner recently speaking out about the ordeal.
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homeowner → turn → ordeal
Ross Sledger, 49, was at work in spring 2019 when a builder working on a kitchen addition at his home unearthed what appeared to be human bones, news agency SWNS reported.
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SWNS → work → home
The remains were formally re-interred this August during a ceremony at a church near Sledger's home in Wye, Kent, in southeastern England.
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remains → re → England
Sledger said he initially thought little of the discovery, assuming the bones belonged to a farm animal or pet, SWNS reported.
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SWNS → say → animal
"[The builder] said, 'I’ve found some bones,' and I said, 'Great,' thinking it was farming or pets," Sledger said.
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Sledger → say → bones
Sledger said he was stunned to learn the remains could be human.
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remains → say → ?
"As you can imagine, a lot of language came out of my mouth.
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lot → imagine → mouth
I was thinking, 'You must be joking, this is a wind-up,' but he said, 'I’m deadly serious,'" Sledger recalled.
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Sledger → think → ?
The bones, later determined to be Anglo-Saxon remains roughly 1,000 years old, caused a stir — and a police investigation.
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bones → determine → stir
Around 10 officers went to the home to sift through the backyard, with investigators eventually finding remains from a second body.
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investigators → go → body
"I was thinking, 'Oh no, this is going to delay it.
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this → think → it
I’ve got bricklayers next week.'
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I → get → bricklayers
"
In all, the grisly discovery included a femur, two skulls, ribs, part of a pelvis and fragments of a humerus and finger bones.
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discovery → include → humerus
"They thought it was a crime scene," Sledger said.
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Sledger → think → ?
"They had to have an officer overnight, and every half hour he had to get out of his car."
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he → have → car
"That set off the neighbor's floodlights, which set off my dog barking.
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dog → set → barking
So as you can imagine, I didn’t get much sleep that night," he added, as SWNS noted.
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SWNS → imagine → sleep
About 48 hours after the initial discovery, specialists confirmed the remains were ancient and not related to a modern-day crime.
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remains → confirm → crime
But the discoveries didn't end there.
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discoveries → end → ?
Sledger later uncovered what he described as "knuckles and fingers" while installing artificial grass in his backyard — which caused some renovation-related anxiety.
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which → uncover → anxiety
"I was thinking, 'Oh no, this is going to delay it.
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this → think → it
I’ve got bricklayers next week,'" Sledger said.
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Sledger → get → bricklayers
"I was thinking, 'This could take months,' but luckily, they were done and dusted by the end of the weekend, which was good."
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which → think → weekend
After the police investigation ended, Sledger said the remains were transferred to a historical society and eventually to a local vicar, though arranging their final resting place took time.
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arranging → end → time
"I think it was a question of getting permission and whether they would be allowed to be there," Sledger added.
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Sledger → think → permission
"I think it was a bit more red tape than anything else."
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it → think → anything
At the August re-interment ceremony, the vicar chose the hymn "Jerusalem," which Sledger said offered a fitting tribute to the ancient remains.
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Sledger → choose → remains
Sledger's backyard isn't the only one in the United Kingdom to yield an unexpected piece of history.
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backyard → yield → history
Another British couple made a historically valuable — though far less grim — discovery in their own backyard recently.
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couple → make → backyard
The Hampshire couple uncovered a hoard of 70 historic English coins while adjusting a fence near a flower bed in 2020.
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couple → uncover → 2020
The coins were sold at auction in November 2025 for more than £380,000, or roughly $500,000.
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coins → sell → 380,000
The Aporia
