A 2,800-year-old skeleton has been found under a set of caves in Kent.

The skeleton was found hunched over at the bottom of a pit under Margate caves, which are rumoured to have once been used as torture chambers.

The mysterious remains could date as far back as 800 BC, and experts suggest their strange positioning was the result of a 'crouch burial'.

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A skeleton from the Iron Age has been found under the Margate caves. The skeleton (pictured) was found at the bottom of a pit in a hunched position. The adult human remains could date from as far back as 800 BC

How the person died, as well as their sex and background, will now be investigated by scientists.

Dan Thompson, artist in residence at the dig, said: 'We don't know if it is male or female. Finds like this are not common.

'The archaeologist I was working with said it was the oldest skeleton he had found.

'It was more common to burn bodies and put their ashes in a jar. Crouched burials are not that common. But there is nothing suggesting who the person was.'

According to Mr Thompson, the skeleton is 'quite tall', with long leg bones and has been sent for further analysis by archaeological experts.

Margate is a seaside resort home to a series of caves and the skeleton was found during recent excavations of an ancient hilltop fort.

The discovery was made on the last day of digging at the fort, which is being reopened as a tourist attraction after closing in 2004.

The iron age skeleton is 'quite tall', with long leg bones and the sex and background of the skeleton is still unknown. Pictured is part of its skull buried in the soil

WHAT ARE THE MARGATE CAVES? The Margate Caves site is thought to have originally been excavated as a chalk mine in the late 17th or early 18th Century. Also known as Vortigern's Cavern, they are a set of galleries radiating out from a rectangular shaft. Local legend says that in the last years of the century, Francis Forster bought the site and built Northumberland House. In 1798, the caves were said to be found by his gardener, who is said to have fallen down a hole and discovered them. Forster had the caves opened and employed a local artist, Brazier, to create carvings and paint scenes on the walls. During this time, murals were painted on walls depicting hunting scenes, religious etchings and silhouettes of animals The caves were used for storage, a wine cellar and as a grotto. A number of modifications were made to the caves during this period, with new features and passages being cut. From 1835 until 1863 the caves went unused. They were then rented by a shopkeeper, John Norwood, who opened them to the public under the name of Vortigern's Cavern. This enterprise was successful for some time but eventually closed, parts of the system being backfilled. More recently they had been open to the public but, after years of poor maintenance the caves were closed because they were too dangerous. By 2016 £1.5million was raised to build a visitor and community centre as well as reopen the caves after a six-year campaign. In 2017, the Margate Caves Community Education Trust announced it successfully bid for more than £420,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. It is hoped that the centre will reopen in 2019. Advertisement

As well as the skeleton and the hill fort, archaeologists and volunteers working at the site have also uncovered post holes, ditches, pottery and a large pit.

Margate Caves are a series of large rooms dug out of the soft chalk in the 17th or 18th Century, possibly as a chalk mine.

They includes a 'dungeon' - a double chambered excavation below the floor of the main cave.

The original purpose of the rooms is not known, but experts say they were not used by smugglers, as there is no connection to the sea, and the only way to get into the caves originally was down a small shaft.

The skeleton (pictured) was found at the bottom of a chalk pit on the last day of the excavation at the site in Kent. Last month the same site was found to be have a hilltop fort

Rumours suggest the caves were once used as a dungeon for torture, earning them the nickname 'the Torture Chambers'.

The caves were re-discovered in 1798 when a gardener fell into them - who is said to have been killed by the fall.

Francis Forster, his employer, had built Northumberland House, a large red-brick house, over the site in the late 18th century.

Mr Forster used the caves as a personal wine cellar.

Dr Wilkinson, director of the Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company (Swat), based in Faversham, who made the discovery says the caves were opened and closed many times over there tempestuous history.

He added: 'The caves were opened in 1907 by Dr Prior, the vicar, who cleared and cut new shafts, eventually opening the caves to the public again after 1910.

Team members found the skeleton at the bottom of the pit in the snow. The caves where the human remains were found are rumoured to be ancient torture chambers

'A new entrance was cut in 1914 for use of the caves as an air raid shelter. The caves reopened to the public after the war until 1938 when they were closed.

'The vicarage above the caves was destroyed in June 1941 and afterwards the entrance to the caves was bricked up.

'In 1958 James Geary Gardner again reopened the caves. They were again closed in 2004.'

Following Margate Caves closure in 2004 over health and safety fears, campaigners launched Friends of Margate Caves (FOMC) in 2011.

FOMC aimed to get the caves reopened as a tourist attraction and halt development at the site.

The skeleton was found during excavations of a hill fort, which was discovered at Margate Caves last month.

Margate is a popular seaside resort and the excavation has also unearthed a hilltop fort, post holes, ditches, pottery and a large pit. Pictured are scientific excavations of a hilltop fort site, which have uncovered an Iron Age skeleton

The fortification is thought to be part of a wider encampment.

It is believed to have been a defensive position since pre-history through to the Napoleonic era.

The find was accompanied by a haul of stone age pottery, although this and similar finds in the area end abruptly with the Roman invasion of the region in 43AD.

Experts say that this suggests the locals were either slaughtered or forced to flee the area.

The Fort on the cliffs overlooking Margate Harbour was originally the main defence for the harbour and for ships going round the North Foreland and the Iron Age skeleton was found in a pit here

The Fort on the cliffs overlooking Margate Harbour was originally the main defence for the harbour and for ships going round the North Foreland.

Nearby road names, including Fort Hill, Fort Crescent and Fort Promenade, elude to this history.

Dr Wilkinson said: 'The archaeological work is being carried out as a condition of the planning permission which is for a new entrance to the caves, ticket office and cafe.'