The skull was inside one of two black cauldrons at the scene. Police also found two human thigh bones, a plastic skull, animal jaw bones, turtle shells, feathers, purple and red cloth, toy handcuffs, crosses and a small statue resembling a totem pole, Seipp said.

“This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this,” he said.

The human skull had no obvious signs of trauma and appeared to be very old, he said. All of the human bones were sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for examination.

Police do not know what to make of the discovery and are not yet sure if a crime was committed. Seipp said the items were covered in snow, indicating they were placed in the woods sometime before the recent snowstorm.

No cemeteries have reported disturbed gravesites, he added.

Although police described the finding as a possible “pagan ritual,” Iris Dickerson, an Elkton resident and practicing pagan, said the finding does not sound like a pagan ritual.

She said real pagans do not use human bones or hurt animals in their religious practices.

“You do what you will, but you harm none,” she said. “There’s definitely nothing demonic.”

Dickerson said she knew of no one in Cecil County’s small pagan community who would use human skulls in rituals, and she had not heard of Thursday’s discovery until asked about it by the Cecil Whig. She added that the incident sounded like a prank to her.

Meanwhile, police want to know where the human bones came from so they can be given a proper burial.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Maryland State Police Trooper 1st Class Sue Smith at (410) 996-7813.

 Source: http://www.cecilwhig.com:80/articles/2007/03/05/news/01.txt

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