The S – SKULL A few years ago, I was mudlarking with a friend close to the Estuary when we stumbled across a human skull and several leg and arm bones. The bones were scattered over a fairly wide area, and we weren't sure how high the tide was likely to rise, so we gathered them up and buried them in situ in a shallow pit. Because human remains have to be reported, we took a GPS reading and informed the police, the Museum of London and the local Finds Liaison Officer. The police came the next day and retrieved the bones. Carbon dating concluded they were about Carbon dating concluded they were about 200 years old, which means they may have belonged to a prisoner from one of the 18th/19th century prison hulks that were moored nearby. Prison hulks were disused warships that were turned into floating prisons to hold, amongst others, those awaiting transportation and Napoleonic prisoners of war. They were filthy, brutal places and many died from starvation and disease. When they...