'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field

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'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field

By Tom_Mack | Posted: October 24, 2013

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field 5418991-large

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field 5419095-large

Lead coffin unearthed in Leicestershire field dates back to third century

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field 5419096-large

Lead coffin unearthed in Leicestershire field dates back to third century

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field 5419097-large

Lead coffin unearthed in Leicestershire field dates back to third century

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field 5419094-large

Lead coffin unearthed in Leicestershire field dates back to third century

Arcaheologists are today digging up a 1,700-year-old lead coffin found in a field by treasure hunters.

About 30 members of Digging Up The Past Metal Detecting Club from across the Midlands were searching a field a few miles west of Hinckley, in Leicestershire, when they made the find.

Club founder David Hutchings said: “It was about four feet underground on a field but the coffin was made of lead so we had no problem finding it.

“It’s not been opened yet but it looks like it contains the remains of a child and it’s probably one of the earliest Christian burials in the county.”

After digging down and discovering it was a coffin they called the police and a vigil was set up at the site to protect it from grave robbers.

David said: “We assumed there were human remains in there so we contacted the police and they got in touch with the archaeologists from Leicestershire County Council, who also came out.

“It seems to be third century Roman and because of the east-west alignment we think it was a Christian burial.

“It’s a lead coffin and we think it would have cost the equivalent of about £200,000, so it was paid for by someone very wealthy.”

Fearing the coffin could also contain valuables such as jewels, a guard was set up overnight, with police watching the site on Sunday and Monday night.

On Tuesday local company Gao-Shan Security provided a guard for the field for free and a small group of people were chased off the field during that night.

Last night, David and three other club members watched the site, spending the night camping in their cars and doing foot patrols around the field every half hour.
Local rector Linda Blay was also invited to the scene by the club and plans to return to say prayers during the excavation.

She said: “It’s a very interesting find.

“They believe the body belongs to a child and it’s also thought to be a very early Christian burial.

“I’m the rector of five churches in the area, including Witherley, and none of them date back as far as the third century.”

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Roman-child-s-lead-coffin-unearthed-field/story-19983211-detail/story.html#ixzz2j4rn8cE7

Wouldn't it be wonderful if it is a time capsule of sorts containing scriptures people were wishing to preserve? Maybe even some written in the actual hand of Paul, Peter, Jude, and the rest of the gang. And since I'm airing my wish list how about they are written in Hebrew. Hey, a guy can dream so might as well dream big.

!! FOXTROT JULIET BRAVO !!

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Roman child's coffin found in Leicestershire opened
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Scientists have removed fragments of bone and a jet bead from inside a 1,700-year-old lead coffin. The experts have now opened and started examining the contents of the Roman casket, which was discovered beneath a field west of Hinckley by metal detectorists last month.

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field UK_Roman_coffin_04

Analysis of the coffin has shown that it was made from a single sheet
of lead and its corners had been sealed with molten lead
[Credit: Archaeology Warwickshire]

The casket, which is less than three feet long, is thought to contain the remains of the child of a rich Roman family.

The team of archaeologists and conservators from Archaeology Warwickshire and York University removed the damaged lid yesterday (MON) morning revealing a cavity filled with silt which had been washed into the coffin through cracks in the lining.

They then began the delicate task of removing layers of silt.

Detectorist Chris Wright, 30, one of the people who found it, said: “It is a privilege and extremely exciting to see the four experts painstakingly sift the silt in minute layers.

“They have retrieved a black, jet bead which could have belonged to the child. They have also recovered fragments of bone which are going to be analysed.”

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field UK_Roman_coffin_01

The opened coffin, containing silt which had washed through the cracked
lining over hundreds of years [Credit: Archaeology Warwickshire]

Mr Wright, from Derby, who is a surveyor and once wanted to be an archaeologist, added: “To be present at its discovery and now seeing its secrets being revealed is amazing. The experts doing the work say they have never worked on a child’s lead coffin from Roman times.”

Archaeology Warwick business manager Stuart Palmer said: “It is extremely rare and the first of its kind in this part of England.

“There can only be a handful of lead-lined Roman coffins containing the bodies of children in the country.”

He said the grave was not in a cemetery, but might be linked to the nearby Roman settlement of Mancetter (Manduessedum) on the Watling Street.

Last week, the team sent a camera probe into the casket to discover that it was largely filled with soil.

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Fragments removed from the coffin [Credit: Archaeology
Warwickshire]

Mr Palmer said: “The lead would have lined a wooden coffin which has disintegrated. The metal is likely to have been made up from a number of scrap items.”

He said the team from York University would be taking samples from the silt inside.

“They will looking for other items which may have been buried with the child,” he added. “They will also examine the soil looking for seeds, pollen and any bone fragments which may have survived.”

Mr Palmer said the samples might take months to analyse, and that a report about the find would be produced.

He said he did not know what would happen to the coffin once the investigation was completed.

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Two bracelets found in Leicestershire Roman coffin
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Two bracelets, believed to be "at least" 1,600 years old have been found in a Roman coffin. The jet bracelets were found on Monday buried in silt inside the coffin which was discovered in a field in Witherley, Leicestershire last month.

'Roman child's lead coffin' unearthed in field UK_Roman-1

One of the bracelets is said to be in good condition, while the other is in need of
'immediate preservation' [Credit: Warwickshire County Council/BBC]

Archaeologists from Warwickshire who are studying the find said one bracelet is in good condition, while the other needs "immediate conservation".

They said they have not ruled out the possibility of further finds.

'Very small'

Stuart Palmer, business manager of Archaeology Warwickshire, said: "Both of the bracelets were in the bottom of the coffin. One of them has left its imprint on the coffin's leaden base.

"One of them is in quite good condition but the other has not been so well preserved. It was buried in a part of the coffin that had cracked and it has a number of cracks in it."

He said the bracelets were "very small" and "very cute".

"They were both found in positions in the coffin that could indicate they were on an arm but there's a possibility they could also have been worn as necklaces or even braded through hair," he added.

Archaeologists believe the coffin, measuring approximately 3ft (0.9m), belonged to the child of a wealthy family and represents an early example of Christian burial.

Mr Palmer described the coffin and its contents as "extremely significant".

He said his team was working with scientists from the University of York to sieve through the rest of the soil and said there was a chance there might be further finds.

He said there was very little left of the child's skeleton and what remained was in fragments.

The full programme of tests is expected to take approximately five months.