Secrets of a Roman sarcophagus and 1,600-year-old baby bones unearthed in London

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An ancient Roman sarcophagus has been excavated from a building site in London.
The 1,600-year-old coffin, which was discovered near Borough Market in central London, is thought to contain the remains of a mother after the bones of a baby were found nearby, experts said.
Archaeologists lifted the lid of the stone coffin on Tuesday and found small bones and a broken Roman bracelet in the surrounding soil.

The 1,600-year-old coffin, which was discovered near Borough Market in central London, is thought to contain the remains of a mother after the bones of a baby were found nearby, experts said.

The team behind the discovery are not certain the infant was buried with the coffin, however, as it appears to have been opened by grave robbers in an area that was used by the Romans as a burial ground.

They believe it was the coffin of a high status inhabitant of Roman London, but they will not know for sure until the bones and soil inside are tested and dated.

The team behind the discovery are not certain the infant was buried with the coffin, however, as it appears to have been opened by grave robbers in an area that was used by the Romans as a burial ground.
Gillian King, senior planner for archaeology at Southwark council, said a large crack on the lid was probably the work of thieves.
'It's been broken into two pieces, probably when robbers broke into it during the post-medieval period,' she said.
'We hope that they will have left the things that were of small value to them but great value to us as archaeologists.
'We always knew this site had the potential for a Roman cemetery, but we never knew there would be a sarcophagus.'


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