Roman Lead Coffin Unearthed in Northern England

Skeletal remains of a Roman aristocrat have been unearthed in a “truly extraordinary” hidden cemetery dating back 1,600 years. Bones belonging to the high-status woman were discovered in an ancient lead coffin during a dig in the town of Garforth, near Leeds.

Archaeologists said the “once in a lifetime” find could help unlock secrets of a period spanning from the fall of the Roman empire in AD400 to the beginnings of the Anglo-Saxon era.

David Hunter, the principal archaeologist with West Yorkshire Joint Services, said: “This has the potential to be a find of massive significance for what we understand about the development of ancient Britain and Yorkshire.”

Unusually for an ancient cemetery, the remains found in Garforth belonged to people from the late Roman and the early Saxon eras. The skeleton of the late Roman aristocratic woman was found alongside the remains of 60 men, women and children from the two periods.

Archaeologists traced the burial traditions of both cultures in the cemetery, the precise location of which is being kept secret.

Hunter said: “The presence of two communities using the same burial site is highly unusual and whether their use of this graveyard overlapped or not will determine just how significant the find is.

“When seen together the burials indicate the complexity and precariousness of life during what was a dynamic period in Yorkshire’s history. The lead coffin itself is extremely rare, so this has been a truly extraordinary dig.”

Experts will seek to establish precise timeframes for the burials by carbon dating the remains. Chemical tests will be carried out to try to determine how they lived and what they ate, as well as details about their ancestry.

Leeds city council said the discovery was made last spring but could only be revealed now because of the need to keep the site safe while tests were carried out.

Although the exact location remains a secret, the excavation was in part prompted by a discovery nearby of late Roman stone buildings and a small number of Anglo-Saxon-style structures.

Kylie Buxton, the on-site supervisor for the excavations, said it was every archaeologist’s dream to work on such a project, adding: “There is always a chance of finding burials, but to have discovered a cemetery of such significance, at such a time of transition, was quite unbelievable.

“For me, it was a particular honour to excavate the high-status lead coffin burial, but it was a great team effort by everyone involved.”

Early analysis indicates some of those in the cemetery held early Christian beliefs, and Saxons were accompanied by personal possessions such as knives and pottery.

The council said it hoped the coffin would be displayed in an upcoming exhibition at Leeds City Museum exploring death and burial customs from across the world.

Evidence of Rare Romano-Celtic Temple Near Lancaster Castle -may be only the second of its type –

A study exercise for students from Lancaster University has uncovered a Romano-Celtic temple, only the second of its type in northern Britain. The discovery was made during a hydro geophysics training session near Lancaster’s Roman military fort and castle, revealing an extensive religious enclosure identified as a Romano-Celtic temple.

Lancaster had a large military fort and garrison in Roman times. It was an important command center between Chester and Hadrian’s Wall and a base for naval operations and supply.

Around AD 80, the Lancaster Roman Fort, also known as Wery Wall, Galacum, or Calunium (the fort’s modern name), was first built atop Castle Hill in Lancaster to guard a bridge over the River Lune. Archaeological evidence suggests that the fort remained active until the end of the Roman occupation of Britain in the early 5th century.

Professor Andy Binley, an expert in hydro geophysics at Lancaster Environment Centre, offered to use his research expertise and equipment to continue the work of the Beyond The Castle archaeological project when heritage lottery funding ran out in 2017.

“I had a few Ph.D. students doing geophysical research and thought this was an interesting group hobby project, training them on techniques and getting them to work as a team,” said Professor Binley, who uses geophysical methods to solve hydrological problems, such as assessing underground water in agriculture and tracking groundwater contamination.

The Beyond the Castle project had been using standard geophysical techniques followed by trial excavation to explore the green open space between Lancaster Castle and the River Lune. These had revealed evidence of a building, thought to be a Roman warehouse, under an area called Quay Meadow, owned by Lancaster City Council. But Professor Binley and his students would make much more extensive, and exciting discoveries.

Using ground penetrating radar, resistivity mapping, and modeling to produce high-resolution 3D images, the study found evidence of a Romano-Celtic temple showing a walled enclosure with a gateway leading to a processional way.

The mapping data also shows a possible roadside mausoleum outside the enclosure, and what might be the base of an altar close to the temple.

The major discovery was what Beyond the Castle project’s leading archaeologist, Jason Wood believes is a Romano-Celtic temple – only the second such temple found in Northern Britain – the other one is close to Hadrian’s Wall.

These temples have a very specific design – two sets of walls forming a square within a square, with a very small interior.

“It would have been dedicated to a god, probably associated with the sea or river. The inner sanctum was reserved for the priests, and the outer ambulatory space was for elite members of society,” said Mr Wood.

“Most of the religious activities would have happened outside the temple, including sacrifices. There would have been a sanctuary or enclosure, possibly with another temple and buildings associated with hospitality and curing the sick. The enclosure would have been separate from the fort, but connected to it by a road or processional way.”

“So few of these sites have been excavated in the UK, so it is significant to have found a Romano-Celtic temple in its temenos (enclosure) by a river,” said Mr Wood.

The findings are outlined in the paper ‘Lancaster Romano-Celtic temple is significant find’ published by British Archaeology.

In Lowbury Hill Mystery of Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago may soon be solved

The mystery surrounding the remains of two Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago in south Oxfordshire, identified as a man and a woman, may finally be solved thanks to modern scientific techniques.

The pair, who were found at Lowbury Hill, Oxfordshire, in 1913 and 1914, is being studied further by a team from the Universities of Reading, Cranfield, and Oxfordshire Museum Service.

The remains of the man are currently on display at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock, but the woman’s bones have been in storage up until now.

Previous research indicates that the man was a seventh-century warrior who lived in Cornwall or western Ireland before being buried on Lowbury Hill. His coffin contained a sword, shield, enamelled spearhead, knife, shears, a bronze hanging bowl, and a bone comb.

His discovery within an Early Medieval barrow and the items with which he was buried indicate he was a high-status individual from the Anglo-Saxon period, with some experts suggesting he may have been a soldier.

He was discovered near a woman, who was buried in line with the wall of a Roman-era enclosure on the hilltop. From her skeleton, she is believed to have been about 40 years old. Her remains have been radiocarbon dated to about 550 to 650 AD.

“While the woman was buried without any significant items, her remains may still reveal her story and tell us something new about the past,” said PhD candidate Summer Courts, who is conducting the investigations.

Late last year, both sets of remains were taken for detailed laboratory analysis. Summer Courts, who studied the remains as part of her PhD research at the University of Reading, and Professor Amy Smith, her supervisor and Curator of the University’s Ure Museum, are hoping the modern analysis will confirm the pair’s sex, their ancestry and relations, their health, and where and how they lived.

PhD candidate Summer, said: “This is a fascinating site with a thrilling history. We hope that with the latest archaeological techniques, and with the help of the local community, we can find out more about the lives of these two people and the Lowbury Hill site.

“We would like to know more about how the site was used by past communities, who the two individuals buried on the hill were, and why their communities felt it was appropriate to bury them there.”

Bone analysis took place at the Cranfield Forensic Institute with project co-supervisor Dr. Sophie Beckett and samples will be sent to Germany for examination in collaboration with Dr. Stephan Schiffels at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Results from the study are expected later in 2023. The bones of the man returned to Oxfordshire Museum in February, overseen by co-supervisor Angie Bolton, Archaeology Manager at Oxfordshire Museum Service, ready to be put back on display to the public.

Evidence of a Roman shrine dating back was discovered during dig at Leicester Cathedral

Excavations by the University of Leicester archaeologists for have uncovered evidence that the site of Leicester Cathedral has been used for worship and religious observance for nearly 1,800 years.

In order to make room for the construction of a visitor and learning center, the cathedral was closed in January 2022. During excavations, which have been carried out as part of the £12.7m Leicester Cathedral Revealed project, thousands of finds have been uncovered.

The excavations revealed the cellar of a Roman building, which contained the base of an altar stone, raising the possibility that the room was a shrine or cult room.

When the archaeologists reached the Roman period level, approximately 10 feet (3 meters) below ground, they discovered evidence of a well-made semi-subterranean structure with painted stone walls and a concrete floor.

The decorative paintwork suggests that the space, which measures about four by four meters, was used as a reception room rather than a storage area, possibly within a larger structure such as a townhouse.

The sunken room was probably built in the 2nd century AD and was deliberately dismantled and filled in, possibly in the late 3rd or 4th century, the University of Leicester said in a press release.

They also discovered the base of an altar stone within that space, lying broken and face down amidst the rubble. The altar, which measures 25cm by 15cm and is carved from local Dane Hills sandstone, has decorative mouldings on three sides.

The back is plain, indicating that it was intended to be placed against a wall. It would have originally stood taller than it was wide, perhaps around 60cm tall, but it is broken mid-shaft and the upper part of the pedestal and capital are missing.

Mathew Morris, Project Officer at the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (Ulas) who led the excavations, said: “Given the combination of a subterranean structure with painted walls and the altar we have found, one interpretation, which seemed to grow in strength as we excavated more, could be that this was a room linked with the worship of a god or gods. What we’re likely looking at here is a private place of worship, either a family shrine or a cult room where a small group of individuals shared in private worship.

“Underground chambers like this have often been linked with fertility and mystery cults and the worship of gods such as Mithras, Cybele, Bacchus, Dionysius, and the Egyptian goddess Isis. Sadly, no evidence of an inscription survived on our altar, but it would have been the primary site for sacrifice and offerings to the gods, and a key part of their religious ceremonies.”

“The discovery of a Roman altar at Leicester Cathedral, the first to ever be found in Leicester, is an amazing find for the Leicester Cathedral Revealed project. For centuries there has been a tradition that a Roman temple once stood on the site of the present Cathedral. This folk tale gained wide acceptance in the late 19th century when a Roman building was discovered during the rebuilding of the church tower.

The origins of this story have always been unclear but given that we’ve found a potential Roman shrine, along with burials deliberately interred into the top of it after it’s been demolished, and then the church and its burial ground on top of that, are we seeing a memory of this site being special in the Roman period that has survived to the present day?”

Leicester is one of the most excavated cities in Britain, and much is known about the Roman town that came before it, Ratae Corieltavorum.

This most recent dig aimed to look at different facets of the city’s history and discover more about the Cathedral’s early history as a parish church.  Experts will be able to trace the history of this area of Leicester back to the Victorian era, as well as Medieval, Saxon, Roman, and possibly even early Iron Age settlements.