Ancient indigenous remains have been uncovered on Victoria's south-west coast.
The human remains were found by construction workers near Warrnambool Cemetery and the V/Line railway track at about 10am on Wednesday.
Anthropologists at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine analysed the bones and confirmed they belonged to an Indigenous ancestor.
According to First Peoples State Relations, Aboriginal burial sites "tend to be near watercourses or in dunes surrounding old lake beds".
They are "often near or within Aboriginal occupation places such as oven mounds, shell middens, or artefact scatters," the organisation says.
The remains were discovered a few hundred metres from Hopkins River and about a kilometre from ancient Aboriginal site Moyjil (also known as Point Ritchie).
Moyjil is the site of what the CSIRO calls "an unusual shell deposit … showing many characteristics of a midden".
The location where the remains were found has been cordoned off and is under guard.
It is unclear what the discovery means for the future of the construction work, which is managed by Rail Projects Victoria.
Victorian Minister for Treaty and First Nations People Natalie Hutchins said the discovery was "incredibly significant".
"[It] highlights why we have laws in place to ensure Aboriginal and traditional owners have appropriate powers to safeguard ancestral remains," she said in a statement.
Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation has been contacted for comment.