Nevis: 200-year-old skeleton found on Pinney's Beach

St Kitts and Nevis: Following the discovery of human remains along Pinney’s Beach in Nevis in August, a place thought to be a hot spot of historical artifacts, the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society and Dr. George Abungu are seeking to tell as much as they can of these bones.

During an interview, Terysia Herbert and Dr. George Abungu, gave insight into this historic find.

The shocking discovery was made on August 17, 2024 as the bones were found sticking out of the rocks at Pinney’s Beach in Nevis following which an investigation was launched by the St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.

Dr. Browne, the District Medical Officer who arrived on the scene, confirmed that the remains were indeed human. However, the condition of the bones left several questions unanswered, with no immediate clues regarding their origin or how long they had been there. 

It is being said that the bones are some 200 years old and they came to the surface because of the heavy tides brought by Tropical Storm Ernesto. 

Terysia Herbert, during the interview confirmed this and said, “Ernesto was the reason that the skeletal remains were unearthed, right, due to the erosion.”

She said that Kenyan Archaeologist Dr Abungu arrived to Nevis for a conference and decided to stay for a couple more days to spend time with his family following which the discovery was made and he was called upon to excavate the body.

Talking about the bones, Herbert said, “We're just trying to determine the way forward in terms of further testing so that we could sort of get a better picture of thought to be buried for about 200 years, the bones of what appeared to be a mature woman, approximately between 50 and 60 years old.”

Dr. George Abungu is Cambridge trained and the CEO of Okello Abungu Heritage Consultants, and is a former Director General of the National Museums of Kenya.With familial ties to Nevis and having just attended the 30th International Association for Caribbean Archaeology's Biannual Congress, he happened to be in the right place at the right time and decided to undertake her excavation.

He said that in two days he was able to excavate the skeleton and noted, “A lot of the bodies, particularly the upper body and the stomach are still concreted in the sand, so it was very tough.”

The NHCS is hopeful that research can be undertaken by international agencies to reconstruct the life that was lived, one that could possibly tie into plantations of Pinneys and Mont Traverse.