I BELIEVE there is more to the tale than stated in the story about the skeleton found buried at St Cross College (March 2). There may even be a big secret behind it.

It is very easy to see, for example, that the woman has not been buried, rather she has been dumped in a very shallow grave.

With a little knowledge of Christian burial rites and some detective work I believe it will become clear that, rather than having been buried respectfully, one of the following is more likely to be the case: She may have been murdered, possibly because of a love affair, and the killer disposed of the body in a place that was convenient at that time. If one looks closely you can see that she has not been ‘put to rest’ but dumped, her body contorted in an uncomfortable way.

I don’t understand why part of her leg is missing in the picture?

This may change the story...

Secondly, she may have been a prostitute, killed and buried with her money placed in her mouth.

Alternatively, she may have been a practitioner of witchcraft, killed and buried with a silver coin to rest her soul in accordance perhaps with pagan beliefs, since this is not part of the Christian tradition.

It’s possible she could have been buried alive.

When the killer dumped her and tried to put earth on her she moved herself to stand up but somehow she was not able.

If you look closely you can see she is leaning to one side perhaps in an attempt to escape.

There’s also the possibility that she did not die all that long ago, and that the killer put an old coin on her in order to distract anyone who found her into believing she died centuries ago.

I would encourage the police to investigate the cause of death, since given the suspicious nature of her burial, it seems there’s a high possibility she may have been murdered. Whoever she was, may God rest her soul.

Dr Hojjat Ramzy St Omer Road Oxford