Police have launched a murder investigation after human remains were found on farmland in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
Last month, construction work was being carried out on the farm in Coxmoor Road, when a member of the public came across some bones.
Specialist officers have been working alongside a team of scientists to determine who the person is and how they died.
Police were called to the farm and a large cordon was put in place while work was carried out to exhume the rest of the remains.
Extensive work including a post-mortem examination has been conducted by a team of scientists including an anthropologist.
They can now reveal the remains are that of a male skeleton, with an estimated age of death of between the ages of 40 to 60 years old and estimated height / stature of between 5’4” and 5’6”.
At this moment in time the body cannot be identified, Nottinghamshire Police said, and more work needs to be carried out on the remains.
This includes radiocarbon dating testing which will attempt to determine when the individual died, which can take up to several months.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin believes the man was buried on the farmland "so no one could find him".
He said: “This will obviously be distressing for the local community to hear as at this moment in time we cannot provide identification.
“At this stage we believe the man was murdered due to the injuries sustained. This includes trauma to parts of skeleton, which are undergoing further analysis.
“We also believe he was buried at this site so no one could find him. It is also possible that the burial site is also not the place where his murder occurred.
“However, we keep an open mind. We also know this is not a murder that has happened recently."
He added: “Any information you may have about who this person might be, or anything you may have heard then we would ask you to get in touch.
“This murder may have happened some time ago, but times have changed and so have loyalties."
