Members of a Saint John church made a bone-chilling discovery after post-tropical storm Arthur ripped through the region on the weekend.

Before Mass on Sunday, members of St. Peter’s Church were taking photos of a massive tree that has been uprooted during the storm when they noticed bones intertwined in the roots.

“It was a whole skeleton embedded in the roots,” says parishioner Rose-Marie Bowes. “It’s so interesting. I couldn’t help but think, who were they?”

Bowes says she was surprised at how well-preserved the remains appeared to be.

“It’s like the roots embraced the skeleton so it wouldn’t fall apart,” she says. “That’s what it looked like, it really did. It’s amazing.”

Police confirm the bones are human remains.

“For precautionary measures, we sent over our forensic unit,” says Sgt. Jay Henderson. “The bones have been collected. They’re being analyzed at the morgue at the Saint John Regional Hospital.”

Police say this isn’t the first time human remains have been found in the area.

“We have had calls there in the past of a similar nature, where human remains have been uncovered if soil has been disturbed in any way,” says Henderson. “We have, in the past, collected those bones and analyzed them and they have come back as very, very old.”

Once the bones have been analyzed, police say they will be given back to the church, where a proper burial will take place.

The same analysis could also shed some light on who else may be buried on the property.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ashley Dunbar