(CNN) British primary school students have been treated to a real-life ancient history lesson after their playground unexpectedly turned into an archeological site.
As workers prepared to build an extension at Victoria Primary School near Newhaven, a former fishing village now part of Edinburgh, Scotland, many expected to uncover the original harbor and shipyard.
But to their surprise, they found human remains instead.
Archeologists have carbon dated the skeleton to the 16th-17th centuries.
Archeologists carbon dated the skeleton to the 16th or 17th century. They believe the remains belong to a man in his 50s, who was most likely a pirate or criminal.
Edinburgh Council says a gibbet, or gallows, stood near Newhaven's docks 600 years ago, and was commonly used to execute people alleged to be witches, pirates and criminals.
Experts say the condition of the man's bones and its proximity to the sea and gibbet, as well as his shallow, unmarked grave, indicate he might have been publicly executed.
"Thanks to carbon dating techniques, archaeologists now know that the skeleton was likely to have been a murder victim -- and quite possibly a pirate," Councillor Richard Lewis, of Edinburgh's City Council, said in a statement.
Africa's archaeological treasures
Egyptologists are optimistic that a second chamber may soon be found behind King Tutankhamun's tomb, based on results of scans from the Valley of the Kings. One archaeologist has speculated that if the second chamber exists, it could be Queen Nefertiti's long-lost burial place.
A female mummy discovered in 1898 in tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings, and dubbed 'The Younger Lady' has been speculated to be Nefertiti. DNA tests in 2008 showed she was not only King Tutankhamun's mother, but also his aunt (she was sister to his father Akhenaten). Many Egyptologists say this DNA evidence mean its unlikely the remains are those of Nefertiti.
Africa has long been a treasure trove of ancient remains. Earlier this year, the 2,000-year old remains of a sleeping woman, dubbed 'sleeping beauty' were found in Ethiopia in the former biblical kingdom of Aksum.
The continent has been home to many such historic finds over the years. In June, archaeologists and divers found the remains of an 18th century Portuguese slave ship off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The ship is believed to have been on its way from Mozambique to Brazil in 1794. These copper fastenings and copper sheathing were also uncovered.
Earlier this year, an international diving team explored flooded caves in Madagascar, and uncovered the largest cache of fossils in the country to date, including the remains of gorilla-sized lemurs, pygmy hippopotamuses, horned crocodile and elephant birds.
According to a paper published in May by the science journal Nature, the oldest stone tools made by our human ancestors were discovered in northwestern Kenya and they date back 3.3 million years -- about 700,000 years before the oldest tools previously unearthed.
A Japanese team from Waseda University stumbled on the tomb of ancient beer-maker while cleaning the courtyard of another tomb at the Thebes necropolis in the Egyptian city of Luxor.
Forensic artist Hayley Fisher worked with AOC Archeology to create a facial reconstruction of the skull, allowing children at the school to get an idea of what the man buried beneath their school looked like.
"The pupils think it's fantastic that a skeleton was found deep underneath their playground," Laura Thompson, headteacher at Victoria Primary School, said.
"The archeologists will hold a special lesson with some of the children about how they have used science to analyze the remains -- will be a good learning opportunity for them."