Tourists make chilling discovery on South Carolina beach that may be linked to centuries-old burial site

A casual stroll on a South Carolina island took a chilling turn when a group of tourists uncovered what they believed were fossils – only to discover they had unearthed centuries-old human remains.

The haunting discovery was made Friday on Edisto Island – a historic site that was once home to the 19th-century settlement of Edingsville Beach,

“Early indications suggest the remains may originate from a long forgotten burial site,” officials said.

The remains – which include a skull and a scattering of separated bones – were collected from the beach destination and will now undergo forensic analysis to determine their origin and age, county coroner Rich Harvey

“The remains are going to be taken to a forensic anthropologist,” Harvey said, adding that it’s unclear how long it will take to unlock the mystery behind the bones.

Remains were previously discovered on the island — which was once home to convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh — in 2015 when a tourist spotted bones protruding from the mud. Not long after, a former park ranger uncovered a skull with teeth still intact,

Scientists determined the bones — one of them a cow skeleton — dated back to 1865 and 1870.

The ancient settlement was established in 1825 and once served as a fashionable summer retreat for Charleston’s elite. It was made up of 60 tabby and brick homes with ocean-facing verandas, churches, a school, boathouses and a billiard saloon.

The settlement’s existence was short-lived, as coastal erosion and the disruptions of the Civil War took their toll, the website stated.

The final blow came when two catastrophic hurricanes — in 1885 and 1893 — destroyed what little remained of the once-bustling community.