Ancient Roman grave filled with gypsum dug up by archaeologists

Highway workers found an ancient Roman cemetery, including a grave filled with a curious substance, during a recent highway construction project in England.

The announcement was made last week by National Highways, a government-owned transportation authority in England. The unusual coffin was discovered along the A47 road, which connects the West Midlands city of Birmingham to Suffolk.

According to officials, the coffin, made of stone and carved by hand, had been “undisturbed since its burial in Roman times over 1,500 years ago.” Twenty-three other graves, possibly indicating a familial or community burial site, were found nearby.

The discovery was part of a “small Roman roadside cemetery,” which was unearthed as highway workers worked to upgrade the highway.

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Construction workers in England recently stumbled upon an ancient Roman burial ground, officials say. (National Highways (UK))

“Part of the A47 between Wansford and Sutton near Peterborough follows the line of an old Roman road,” National Highways said.

Authorities called the coffin, which weighs roughly 1,600 pounds and measures 6½ feet, “a rare find.”

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“Stone coffins are uncommon,” the statement explained. “Only around 50 have been discovered around Roman Britain.”

The coffin was so heavy in part because it was filled with a substance called white gypsum, which is a mineral used in plaster-making, archaeologists found. Experts place the coffin between 43 A.D. and 410 A.D. but have not determined the exact year it was made, nor the reason gypsum was inside the coffin.

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“It could be the coffin of a high-status individual in the local community,” National Highways noted.

One coffin contained white gypsum, which is used to make plaster. (National Highways (U.K.))

“We don’t know exactly why bodies were encased in plaster. It could also indicate the burial of a wealthy person.”

The press release noted that archaeologists “delicately” started the process of removing bones from the plaster and that some fragments “bore the imprints of the cloth the body had been buried in.”

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Interestingly, the plaster also took the shape of the body itself. Experts found other oddities in the surrounding graves, including what may have been a young woman’s dowry.

“One grave of a young woman contained a collection of valuables, all laid at the feet of the body,” the organization said. “This could be the dowry of a young woman accompanying her into the afterlife.

“The grave also contained glass and ceramic drinking vessels, possibly for a last toast at the graveside or a commemorative anniversary.”