HUMAN remains discovered during an archaeological dig on the site of the Fremlin Walk shopping centre in Maidstone have left experts baffled.

The gruesome discovery was made in Market Street during a month long excavation. Inside a collapsed wooden coffin lay the skeletal remains of a adolescent with a circular bucket lying on its chest.

This practice was common in more superstitious times when buckets of salt were used as a means of warding off evil spirits.

The design of the coffin, similar to those used in the Hammer House of Horror films, suggests the person died between 1650 and 1800.

The find has only just come to light because of Home Office guidelines which attempt to preserve the dignity of the deceased and deter souvenir hunting ghouls.

Mystery revolves around its location with no record of the site being used as a cemetery or burial ground since Roman times.

AOC Archaeology Fields Project Officer, Darryl Palmer said there were several possibilities under consideration.

He said: "The deceased may have contracted some contagious disease, although that's unlikely. Another possibility is the person was not a member of the Church of England or just didn't get on with his local vicar."

The remains have been removed for further examination at the company's laboratory in Twickenham.

Forensic specialists will also examine the remains of five adult skeletons believed to date from Roman times. These were uncovered one and half metres beneath the earth close to the junction of Museum Street and Earl Street.