Mystery deepens over 42 oddly buried skeletons found on UK farm

Excavation for the construction of a retirement community in the rural UK recently unearthed 42 skeletons in shallow graves that had their hands tied behind their backs. 

But how the bodies ended up there and who they might represent remain unknown. 

Contract archaeologists working with the builders have yet to provide local officials with a report about the remains, and county residents are calling for answers, local news site The Milton Keynes (MK) Citizen reported on January 28, Livescience.com reports. 

The remains were discovered in December on West End Farm in Buckingham, England, after developer Brio Retirement Living Holding broke ground for 72 new apartments for retirees, according to MK Citizen. The shallowness of the graves and the fact that the skeletons' hands were bound suggested "they were prisoners of some kind," said District and Town Councillor Robin Stuchbury.

"They could date from Anglo-Saxon times, when there were killings in Buckingham, or from during the Civil War, which also saw casualties," Stuchbury told MK Citizen. "Or they could be criminals who were hanged on the gallows in the town."