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A photo of a spine, hip, leg and assorted bones unearthed in Wiltshire. Photo: Screenshot via Twitter @Wessex Water

British water company unearths four Iron Age skeletons

"We unearthed a footless skeleton with two sheep on her head in Wiltshire," read the March 25 posting on Twitter by Wessex Water, a water company that serves southwestern England.

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It's not your normal tweet from a water utility.

"We unearthed a footless skeleton with two sheep on her head in Wiltshire," read the March 25 posting on Twitter by Wessex Water, a water company that serves southwestern England.

Accompanying the post was a photo of a spine, hip, leg and assorted bones believed to date from the Iron Age being examined by an archaeologist brought in by the utility.

What archaeologists have discovered so far as they scour Wiltshire during £200 million (HK$2.6 billion) of water supply and pipeline works "is quite amazing," spokeswoman Lucy McCormick said.

In total four skeletons thought to be from the Iron Age that lasted in Britain from 800BC to the time of the Roman conquest that began in AD43 have been unearthed in fields along the A303 highway near West Knoyle, the company said.

The company worked with archaeologists along the pipeline route to "ensure that the past is protected," Wessex Water said. Bones that were carefully removed from the sites, will be cleaned, catalogued, then undergo radiocarbon dating.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Water company unearths four Iron Age skeletons
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