POLICE have been called to a York building site after workmen uncovered human remains believed to come from a medieval cemetery.

Fragments of human bones, which were found under a home in the Lawrence Street area, are thought to have come from a cemetery in operation in the area until the 1500s.

Officers were called to the scene on Thursday afternoon after the discovery was made as there were initial doubts about the age of the remains. The York Archaeological Trust (YAT) has since been consulted and the North Yorkshire Coroner is likely to be informed of the find.

A spokesman for YAT said: “It is close to where there was a church called St Edward’s which was dissolved in the 16th century. St Edward’s had a large cemetery kept for hundreds of years. Houses in the area have been built on top of this. York is full of medieval cemeteries so this finding comes as no surprise.”

He said similar cemeteries are buried beneath Hungate and King’s Square.