On Jan. 3, a beachcomber on one Dartmouth beach found something unexpected among the shells and polished stones: A fragment of what appeared to be a human skull, according to a release from the Dartmouth Police Department.

The release stated that the passerby discovered what looked like “a sizeable fragment of an aged human skull in the sand” at Dartmouth’s Little Beach off Horseneck Road near the Westport border on Sunday.

“We don’t know how old it is,” noted police spokesperson Det. Kyle Costa. “There is no suspected foul play at this point.”

According to the release, police currently suspect that the fragment washed ashore and was not placed on the beach.

It has been collected and transferred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for further analysis.