A man on holiday with his family made a gruesome discovery on a beach at Boknes in the Eastern Cape, when what he thought was a stone turned out to be a human skull.

On Sunday, the man was walking along the beach close to a lagoon, when he saw what he thought was a stone embedded in the sand on the beach.

Reports say when he dug it out he discovered it was a human skull.

According to police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender, the local SAPS who arrived at the scene after being contacted, discovered more human remains.

Govender said the bones which were retrieved, will be forwarded to the Department of Health's forensics department for further analysis.

He further explained that an inquest docket has been opened for investigation and according to their records no person has been reported missing in the area.