An investigation has been launched after a human skull and remains were found in a building in the west Highlands.
A member of the public made the grim discovery in Applecross earlier this week.
Police and archaeologists are now studying the remains to ascertain how old they are.
However it is understood that they could be around 200 years old.
The building, owned by the Applecross Estate, is under renovation and it was during this work that the find was made on Wednesday.
No one from the Applecross Trust, which operates the estate, was available for comment.
However it is reported that the administrator, Archie Maclellan, said that the office had been used as a house for the 40 years.
He added that no one was allowed to go near the find.
Police were at the scene until yesterday morning.
A force spokesman said: “A member of the public has contacted police after finding what they believed to be a human skull within a building at the Applecross Estate.
“The skull was found during renovation work and reported to Police Scotland at around 2.17pm hours on July 8.
The finding is believed to be historic. It is likely to have been there for a number of years and there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “An officer from our Historic Environment Team attended the location where the human remains were found yesterday and made an initial assessment confirming that the remains are thought to be historic in origin. We are currently in discussion with Historic Scotland on the find.”