

The skeleton belonged to a 16th century pirate. Image Credit: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

The 500-year-old remains of a convicted pirate have been unearthed beneath a school in Edinburgh.

When human remains were first discovered underneath Victoria Primary School last year archaeologists initially believed that they belonged to an individual from the Bronze Age.After further study however it soon became evident that the skeleton was actually that of a 16th century pirate who had been executed at the Newhaven dockyards over 600 years ago.The man, who was thought to have been in his 50s when he died, was probably hanged following a conviction for piracy before having his body put on display as a warning to other pirates."Edinburgh has an undeniably intriguing past and some of our archaeological discoveries have been in the strangest of places," said Edinburgh Councillor Richard Lewis."It's fantastic that through the council's archaeology and museums service, we are able to investigate such discoveries and add to our understanding of Newhaven's heritage."The primary school's children were also particularly excited about the find."The pupils think it’s fantastic that a skeleton was found deep underneath their playground," said headteacher Laura Thompson. "The archaeologists will hold a special lesson with some of the children about how they have used science to analyse the remains and it will be a good learning opportunity for them."