Found human bone baffles police

Hamilton Police have called in an expert help to try and unravel the mystery of a human bone found underneath a house this week.

The bone was excavated in Beerescourt by two residents of a Macdiarmid Road house, and was first thought to be that of an animal.

But after a pathologist identified it as a human thigh bone, police want to work out how old it is and who it might have belonged to.

It could be anything between 20 and 100-years-old - no missing persons reports match the discovery and there are no known historical burial sites in the area.

Forensic, iwi and historic experts are being called in.

The site's been blessed and the Council's been called to make sure it's safe to carry on excavations.

And the family who live in the Hamilton home where the bone was recovered say they're as interested as anyone else in how it came to be there, and who it's from.

Sarah Nathan said she was surprised to find the and wonders if there are many more bones to be uncovered.

Photo: The human bone found in Hamilton (supplied)