Elite Roman man buried with a sword may have been ‘restrained’ in death

In an isolated field near a Roman villa in Wales, archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of a man buried facedown. Adorned with a silver pin and a sword, he may have been a Roman soldier — but large nails near his neck, back and feet offer tantalizing evidence that he was restrained at death.

This burial and four others, which date to the mid-third to the late-fourth centuries, were discovered by Red River Archaeology, a U.K.-based archaeological firm, during a road improvement project near the town of Barry in south Wales.

Archaeologists think the burials may be associated with the Whitton Lodge Roman villa, which was originally excavated half a century ago.

The man, estimated to be between 21 and 25 years old at death, was placed in a rock-cut grave that may have been edged with wooden planks, based on the discovery of nails at the top and bottom of the pit, according to Mark Collard, managing director of Red River Archaeology.

In an email to Live Science, Collard noted that “the prone [facedown] position and very large nails at the back of the neck, shoulder and between the feet may indicate restraints.”

Contrary to an interpretation of a non-elite or enslaved individual, though, the man’s personal ornaments — an iron sword, hobnailed boots, and a silver crossbow-style brooch — suggest he may have been an elite member of the Roman military. 

Evan Chapman, senior curator of archaeology at Amgueddfa Cymru — Museum Wales, said in a statement that “this is the first example of a Roman silver crossbow brooch to be found in Wales.” These brooches, likely used to fasten a cloak, were often associated with the Roman military.

“The presence of the sword would support the military connection in this instance,” Chapman said.

Direct analysis of the man’s bones and teeth revealed more details about his life. For example, he was suffering from mastoiditis, a bacterial infection of the mastoid bone behind the ear, when he died. This condition can be cured easily with antibiotics today, but in Roman times, it could have been a death sentence.

An analysis of isotopes — elements with varying numbers of neutrons in their nuclei — of the man’s bone and tooth enamel also showed that he “likely grew up further east, possibly from the Welsh borders or beyond,” Rachel Morgan, a project archaeologist for Red River Archaeology, said in the statement. “So what was this rich man doing on a farm in south Wales when he died?”

It is not unusual to find Roman burials outside of formal cemeteries. But the man’s prone position — as well as the discovery of a nearby grave with a decapitated individual whose skull was placed at their feet — is notable, Collard said, as other Roman Britain burials also suggest a “clear association between the occurrence of prone and decapitated burials.”

For example, another set of Romano-British cemeteries at Knobb’s Farm, just north of Cambridge, was found in 2021 to have had a very high number of burials out of the norm.

Out of the 52 total burials there, 13 (25%) were prone, while 17 (33%) were decapitated. Researchers have begun to pay more attention to patterns of atypical burials in Western Europe during the Roman period, but so far, no single explanation for these kinds of burials has been found.

Whether it was for low-status individuals, criminals, or those their communities wanted to ensure “stayed dead,” cross-culturally, prone burials are never seen as a positive way of disposing of the deceased.

This Roman soldier is therefore something of a mystery — one that may never be solved. “It is interesting that he was buried prone but still with his ‘regalia,'” Collard said. “Raises more questions than answers!”

2,500-Year-Old Chariot Found – Complete with Rider And Horses

For the second time in two years, an Iron Age chariot has been found buried in a Yorkshire community. The discovery was made in the town of Pocklington, England, at a construction site where more than 200 homes are being built.

As of early October 2018, archaeologists are working to fully excavate the find. Media reports say that not only a chariot but also horse and human remains were discovered.

Simon Usher, managing director at Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said: “We can confirm that a significant archaeological discovery, featuring an Iron Age horse-drawn chariot, has been made at our development, The Mile in Pocklington.

Careful excavation is ongoing by our archaeologists and a thorough investigation is in the process to date and detail the find.”

In a bizarre twist, 18 months ago, another Iron Age chariot was found, along with two horses, at a different construction site in Pocklington. Archaeology Arts reported in 2017: “The chariot was buried as part of a funerary practice that was not uncommon in the Iron Age. However, the horses were a rather surprising addition for archaeologists.”

The Telegraph said that “the find of the remains dating back to 500 BC is the first of its kind in the last 200 years and one of only 26 chariots ever excavated in the UK.”

Archaeologists say it is highly unusual for a horse and chariot to be buried together and with a human.

In 2017, Paula Ware, managing director at MAP Archaeological Practice Ltd, told a reporter, “The chariot was located in the final square barrow to be excavated and on the periphery of the cemetery.”

She continued, “The discoveries are set to widen our understanding of the Arras (Middle Iron Age) culture and the dating of artifacts to secure contexts is exceptional.”

A chariot was the possession of a high-status individual. The rite of including horses as part of the burial is being puzzled over by researchers. Before finding the chariot, the dig at the Burnby Lane site revealed artifacts including a sword, shield, spears, brooches, and pots.

The excavations give insight into life over 2,500 years ago. These are thought to be people of the Arras culture.

Yorkshire continues to be the place where astoundingly well-preserved remains of the Arras culture are found. In 2016, some 150 skeletons and their personal possessions were discovered in a small market town at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Some of the 75 square barrows, or burial chambers, contained personal possessions such as jewelry and weapons, according to The Guardian.

Archaeologists also discovered a skeleton with a shield.

Media reports say those remains were of a man in his late teens or twenties, who died with his sword at his side. Before his death, he reportedly had six spears pressed into him “like a hedgehog.”

It is believed these sites all date to the Iron Age, which in Britain lasted from 800 BC until the time of the Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD.

An in-depth study will focus on whether the population is indigenous or were recent arrivals from the Continent. Archaeologists also hope to reveal how those buried at the site died and whether or not they are related in any way, as well as potential DNA analysis.

The custom of burying the deceased with their chariots within squares is unknown in the rest of the British Iron Age. Interestingly, the Arras vehicles were usually disassembled, a practice less common in the Continental chariot burials.

Scientists Discover Beheaded Man’s Brain Self-Preserved For 2,600 Years

One of the oldest human brains ever to be discovered was probably preserved for more than 2,000 years thanks to mud, archaeologists claim. The intact Iron Age organ was discovered inside a decapitated skull in York seven years ago and since then experts have conducted tests to explain how the tissue could have stood the test of time.

Tests have revealed that the brain and other remains are 2,600 years old and have survived because the head was buried in a sealed clay pit devoid of oxygen, soon after its owner’s death.

In 2009, archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust uncovered a skull with the jaw and two vertebrae still attached to it, in Heslington, York. The skull was found face-down in a pit without any evidence of what had happened to the rest of the body.

At first, archaeologists thought they had found a normal skull and it was not until the bones were cleaned that they came across ‘something loose’ inside.

Rachel Cubitt, the Collection Projects Officer said: ‘I peered through the hole at the base of the skull to investigate and to my surprise saw a quantity of bright yellow spongy material.

‘It was unlike anything I had seen before.’

An archaeologist at the University of Bradford confirmed the tissue was the brain and experts from York Hospital’s Mortuary they were able to remove the top of the skull in order to reveal the astonishingly well-preserved human brain.

They have now carbon-dated the jaw bone to confirm the man probably lived in the 6th century BC. An examination of the teeth and skull revealed he was between 26 and 45 years old when he died.

It appears that he was first hit hard on the neck, which was then severed with a small sharp knife, according to marks on the vertebrae, but experts can only guess why the man died such a violent death.

There has previously been a suggestion that he was hanged, but experts have largely ruled out his head being used as a trophy – which was a grim practice in Iron Age societies – because there are no signs of preservation or smoking.

Speaking two years ago, Sonia O’Connor, research fellow in archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford, said: ‘The hydrated state of the brain and the lack of evidence for putrefaction suggests that burial, in the fine-grained, anoxic sediments of the pit, occurred very rapidly after death. 

‘This is a distinctive and unusual sequence of events, and could be taken as an explanation for the exceptional brain preservation.’

However, the larger mystery is how his brain was preserved naturally, when bodies buried in the ground typically rot because of a mixture of water, oxygen, as well as a temperature allowing bacteria to thrive.

When one or more of these factors is missing, preservation can occur. In the case of the Heslington Brain, the outside of the head rotted as normal, but the inside was preserved. Experts believe the head was cut from the man’s body almost immediately after he was killed and buried in a pit dug in wet clay-rich ground. 

This environment provided sealed, oxygen-free burial conditions. 

While over time, the skin, hair, and flesh of the skull rotted away, the fats and proteins of the brain tissue linked together to form a mass of large complex molecules.

This resulted in the brain shrinking, but it also preserved its shape and many microscopic features only found in brain tissue, they explained.

As there was no new oxygen in the brain and no movement, it was protected and preserved, allowing scientists to study it today.

Speaking two years ago, Sonia O’Connor, research fellow in archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford, said: ‘It is rare to be able to suggest the cause of death for skeletonised human remains of archaeological origin. 

‘The preservation of the brain in otherwise skeletonised remains is even more astonishing but not unique.

‘This is the most thorough investigation ever undertaken of a brain found in a buried skeleton and has allowed us to begin to really understand why a brain can survive thousands of years after all the other soft tissues have decayed.’