Wild speculation has been coming from all corners, and the family who, until this year, owned the property in question, has been on the receiving end.

A member of that family (who prefers not to be named) has spoken to Guardian News to set the record straight on the property’s history and the source of all of those shells.

“Our family built that property roughly 130 years ago – we celebrated its centenary in 1988,” they said.

“And we’ve been an oyster family for over 100 years.

“I’m not trying to say that there wasn’t a sacred site there – we just have no way of knowing.

The family member said the land around the property is comprised of sand, and in order to develop the site, the family would lay oyster shells down for foundational stability.

“If there were holes in the ground, we’d throw oyster shells in, we were always throwing them under the house,” they said.

“If you were to dig into the driveway you’d discover that the whole thing is made out of oyster shells.”

Acting Inspector Chris Hardwick has confirmed that an examination of the bones was conducted today at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Glebe, Sydney.

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But the department will need to conduct further examinations in order to reach a point of clarity.

Acting Inspector Hardwick is hopeful that those further examinations will be finalised today.

Should the bones be found to predate modern times, the case will no longer fall under the purview of police and will officially be handed over to the Office of Environment and Heritage.