A nine-year-old schoolboy who stumbled across a human skeleton at Castlepoint Beach on Sunday was hoping at first he had discovered dinosaur remains.
Sacred Heart Petone pupil Jacob Campion was holidaying at the beach with his Lower Hutt family when he unearthed by hand a Maori adze head and what police believe is a near complete human skeleton, Castlepoint duty constable Dave Drummond said yesterday.
Jacob made his find about 4.30pm on Sunday at the foot of a large sand dune 500m along the beach from the small resort settlement, Mr Drummond said.
Masterton detectives were called to the site and an almost complete skeleton was pieced together over a couple of hours before the remains were taken to the Wairarapa Hospital morgue for forensic examination, he said.
"His parents didn't believe him when Jacob said he'd found a human skeleton. He's always finding things apparently.
"I mean, our little Indiana Jones was back there with a spade (the next day), seeing what else he could discover, " Mr Drummond said.
Jacob, an aspiring marine biologist, said he had been running up and down the dune and after stepping on a sharp object buried in the sand had stopped to investigate the site.
"I dug, mostly with my hands, and pulled out quite a big bone with a pointy end. I kept digging and found a stony-coloured thing, then two leg bones. I have a skeleton on my drawer at home, so I knew they were leg bones.
"Then I found the skull. The nose hole and the eye sockets were full of sand. I was hoping it was a dinosaur - one that swims or something.
"The bones were all jumbled up. I knew when I found the skull it wasn't a dinosaur but I put it aside with the rest of the bones anyway," he said.
Jacob showed to a passing woman what turned out to be the adze head and told her of the bones he had also uncovered.
"She told me they were sheep bones but said I should hold on to the stone coloured thing. I went back and kept digging."
His father Peter Campion said he didn't at first believe Jacob when his son came bounding to him, yelling that he had found a human skeleton.
Mr Campion said he returned to the site of the discovery and examined the skull. He then thought Jacob was the victim of a teenager's prank and the rust-coloured and yellowing bones were manufactured.
"We've been bringing Jacob here all his life and he's always bringing back small animal skulls and bits of bone. When we went to have a look, we were more or less just humouring him," he said.
"I have to say the adze head looked real on first sight. It still had an edge. But the skull didn't look real. Then a tooth came out and you could see the roots. That's when I called the police."
Mr Campion plans to return to Castlepoint at Christmas for the next family break and said he is now more ready to believe Jacob should he make another big discovery.
"I've been coming to Castlepoint for years and spent hours fossicking and beachcombing. Jacob comes out for a long weekend and the sand has shifted just so, and he uncovers a skeleton and an adze head. I won't doubt him next time."
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