HUMAN bones discovered during an archaeological dig in caves beneath Culzean Castle in Ayrshire could belong to a victim of the legendary Sawney Bean and his cannibal family, experts suggested yesterday.

A team working for the Channel 4 show Extreme Archaeology (EXA), to be broadcast tomorrow night, found the remains during an exploration of the network of tunnels beneath the castle, the ancient seat of the Clan Kennedy and now a popular tourist attraction.

Experts are wondering if the bones could be linked to Sawney Bean, who is believed to have lived in Bennane Cave, a network of tunnels along the coast near Ballantrae, around the beginning of the fifteenth century.

He and his 46-strong family, their existence little-known at the time, were said to be behind a 25-year climate of fear in which unwary travellers along the south Ayrshire and Galloway coast mysteriously disappeared.

Led by Dr Mark Davies, the young specialists were sent to Culzean by Channel 4 to record and recover artefacts and evidence and to establish if the caves were linked to the castle by a tunnel. Using hi-tech scanning equipment, artefacts including pottery, glass and animal bones were recovered before the team found the human remains in a culvert.

Derek Alexander, archaeologist with the National Trust for Scotland, who joined the EXA team in their search, said: ''Personally I'm very excited about this find.

''We're all aware of the fantastic history to be found and enjoyed at Culzean, and these finds have added to the amazing story.

''Could these remains relate to an ancient legend about cannibals in the area? Could they predate the previously-known use of the caves?

''Last week we announced that we've found an arrowhead from the battle of Bannockburn at Bannockburn Heritage Centre and our finds here at Culzean are equally exciting.

''The castle and country park is one of the most popular tourist attraction in Scotland, yet few visitors realise the amazing history behind it.''

Although evidence existed for the sixteenth century use of the caverns, evidence for earlier occupation had previously been sparse, with little indication of what these caves may have been used for in medieval times and before.

With a build-up of mud and other deposits over time, the interior of the caves was a confusing mess. The team have had to use Ground-Penetrating Radar and Cyrax Laser scanning technology to produce an accurate 3D representation of the cave interior.

The trust undertook laser scanning of the caves prior to filming, with funding from Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire.

The tale of Sawney Bean is set to be the subject of an international film production. Glasgow-based film-makers Posh Pictures have begun pre-production on the movie, which is likely to be filmed on location in Ballantrae and other parts of South Ayrshire.

Culzean Castle itself has a happier history than Sawney Bean's cave. Built for David Kennedy, the 10th Earl of Cassillis, by Robert Adam, it was more recently associated with President Eisenhower.

When the Kennedys handed it over to the National Trust they asked for the top floor to be given to him as a thankyou from the people of Scotland for his part in liberating Europe from the Nazis.

When he visited Britain as US president, Culzean was Eisenhower's Scots residence.