Experts believe that material from more than a single burial was uncovered when human remains were unexpectedly discovered in the garden of a house outside Enniskillen recently.
As reported in last week’s edition of The Impartial Reporter, police were called to the scene near Lough Shore Road less than two weeks ago after a digger driver uncovered a skeleton buried in a shallow grave three feet from a house and less than two feet into the ground. 
A doctor was also called to formally confirm that the find was human remains.
A spokesperson for the Department of Communities said it is not possible to date the find at this stage: “It was not possible to recognise any articulated remains within the trench, but discussion with the landowner of the perceived alignment of the remains prior to disturbance suggested it may have been aligned east-west, corresponding to the normative Christian burial rite. 
“A substantial quantity of human bone and teeth was recovered from loose material which had been disturbed within the trench. 
“It is likely that material from more than a single burial was involved, but confirmation will be achieved through further study of the remains recovered. 
“As the bones were found in disturbed ground, and there were no other artefacts that could be placed in context with the remains, it is not possible to offer even a tentative date for the burial at this stage.”  
She said that the chance discovery during gardening work was not in an area associated with archaeological finds. 
“The discovery of human remains at Lough Shore Road was an accidental one made by a landowner in the course of routine gardening works and in an area not associated with any known archaeological site.  
“It was therefore an activity that did not require any prior archaeological involvement (and it was not a discovery covered by the terms of an excavation licence). 
Explaining the process after a find, she said: “With such chance discoveries of human remains, the first process which anyone must follow is the reporting of a find of suspected human remains.
“This is usually done to the PSNI, which, in cases like this, may ask for input from archaeologists or osteological [bone] experts.
“Once it has been established that the remains are not likely to be recent and may be archaeological then there is an obligation to report the find of any potential archaeological material to the National Museums NI or to Historic Environment Division (HED) of the Department for Communities within 14 days.  
“In the Lough Shore case the PSNI called on the expertise of an osteologist at Queen’s University Belfast and when they gave their opinion that the remains were not recent, the details were forwarded to HED.
“Once the discovery of archaeological material is reported to HED, an assessment is made of the condition of the material and whether there is any possibility of the material being preserved in situ. 
“If this is not possible, an excavation may be required.
“In this case, HED established that burials of an undetermined age had been disturbed accidentally in the course of groundworks close to a farmhouse.  
“When HED inspectors viewed the site, it was noted that the remains were in a fragmented condition and lay partly in the trench where they were discovered and other parts had been removed in the initial works.  
“If additional works had been planned, it is likely that the landowner would have been asked to engage a commercial archaeologist at their own expense to supervise the works.  
“As no further groundworks were planned, however, there was no possibility of disturbing additional archaeological material and the focus of HED activity was to record the discovery site and rescue the disturbed remains for further archaeological analysis.
“Given the sensitive nature of the material and the circumstances of the discovery, HED deployed its own staff to recover the material and will consider the options towards producing a specialist report in discussion with the landowner.”
The most prominent object discovered in Fermanagh in recent years is the gold torc found at Corrard in 2009, subsequently found to be treasure and now in the Ulster Museum.  
“Other non-treasure items will have been reported to the local or national museums.   
“There have been 50 licensed excavations in Fermanagh since April 2014, almost all carried out in the context of a condition associated with development, although many of these produced no archaeological material. 
“It is difficult to put a figure on how many archaeological discoveries have been made in Fermanagh in recent years, not least because some, such as the discovery of a single object, are generally made to the local or national museum, whereas others, such as those found as part of an excavation, are reported to HED,” said the spokesperson.