1,600-year-old Roman coffin unearthed in London - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

ShaniFaye · 11-30-2006, 06:22 PM

Quote:

LONDON, England (AP) -- Archaeologists discovered a rare Roman sarcophagus containing a headless skeleton at the site of London's historic St. Martin-in-the-Fields church, authorities said Friday.

The limestone coffin dates to about A.D. 410 and was 10 feet below the grounds of St. Martin-in-the-Fields near Central London's busy Trafalgar Square, outside the boundaries researchers had established for London's Roman city walls.

"The find has opened up an exciting new area of Roman London for study," said Taryn Nixon, director of the Museum of London Archaeology Service. "This gives us an extraordinary glimpse of parts of London we haven't seen before, particularly Roman London and Saxon London."

Excavators and archaeological teams discovered 24 medieval burial sites in the area above and around the Roman sarcophagus during work on the church grounds this summer. The discovery lies in view of the National Gallery art museum, Nelson's Column and the square, which is often congested with tourists.

The sarcophagus was made from a single piece of limestone from Oxfordshire or Northamptonshire, about 60 miles northwest of London, researchers said. The skeleton, headless and missing fingers, is a 5-foot-6-inch man who died in his 40s. Researchers speculated Victorian workmen building a sewer stumbled upon the sarcophagus and took the skull.

The site is about a mile west of the boundary of Roman London established by researchers, said Roman history expert Hedley Swain.

Archaeologists made two similar finds in London during the 1970s and once at Westminster Abbey during the 19th century.

It was unclear if the burial was Christian or held by pagans, who populated the area, Swain said.

A $71 million renovation and expansion project on the church began in January, and an entrance into a foyer and shop is planned for above the burial site, said architect Tim Lynch.

Other finds include a Roman tile kiln, Anglo-Saxon jewelry, false teeth, a copper bowl and a green-blue glass cup.

"I'm amazingly thrilled by the finds we have made and excruciatingly nervous we will find something so significant we will have to stop the (renovation) work altogether," said Rev. Nick Holtam, the vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe....ap/index.html

Discussion point....when should history stop progress or when is progress more important than history?

It really really bothers me that they would be nervous they'd have "such" a great find they would have to stop their work. Im big on "history" and things we can learn from it about the people and their lives before us. I believe we can learn from the past. I know Im very passionate about "historical preservation", and would much rather see a site excavated for all that can be found, than built over and made modern.

aberkok · 11-30-2006, 07:46 PM

Well... historical discovery is progress. The more we learn about the past, the better informed our decisions can be in the future. Knowledge ought to be more important than renovating. Luckily, it seems the law protects such artifacts.

Cynthetiq · 11-30-2006, 07:59 PM

ugh this just reminds me of when they found a slave cemetery in Lower Manhattan, it stymied construction projects for years, sucked for the city.

Quote:

LINK
During a routine construction project, workers stumbled onto a 300-year-old colonial slave cemetery — one of just two discovered buried beneath cities in the North. The other was found in Lower Manhattan in New York City, 15 years ago.

aKula · 12-01-2006, 12:36 AM

I also feel strongly about not losing archeological sites where important discoveries could be made. In cities such as Rome however, it would not be possible to have a functioning city if everything were to be painstakingly excavated. In such a case the only rational thing to do is allow the development to continue.

warrrreagl · 12-01-2006, 04:19 AM

Several years ago, a college town in Mississippi was trying to pave an access road to the back of the campus and some folks didn't want the paving to occur. So, some of them apparently dumped out a few Indian arrowheads into the dirt and the paving had to stop because the road suddenly became an archeological site. One arrowhead, you see, doesn't mean much - but several of them indicates a village.

stevie667 · 12-01-2006, 04:20 AM

My dad has done alot of construction in London, archeology is always a complete PITA because we have very strict laws over here with regards to finds and how they must be dealt with.

Two sides of the argument, one wants to see what happened, the other one wants to get paid on schedule.

Pip · 12-01-2006, 04:50 AM

Seems like there's a Bronze Age dwelling or a Viking burial site in the way of every road construction here.

It's nice that archaeolgists get some work, but it's not very exciting when they find the 39614th 1000-year-old plain vanilla farmhouse. I imagine it must be even worse in Central and Southern Europe.

highthief · 12-01-2006, 05:39 AM

Time should always be taken to study - and they do this very well in Britain and other European countries where a significant historical record exists.

In most instances, they stop, study, collect artifacts, and whatever construction going on resumes. Not much to ask, and any competant business person in those areas knows to draw in a bit of wiggle room in their budgets and time projections because this is a common occurrence.

The_Jazz · 12-01-2006, 08:34 AM

There's an apartment complex in Knoxville, TN that's sitting on top of a massacre site from the 1780's. One of my parents' neighbors is the archeologist at UT that excavated the site. The apartment developers were greatly pissed off that their project got put on hold for about 6 months but it turned out that there were some major finds, like bodies, equipment, etc. that differed from the survivors' stories. Historically speaking, those are just the breaks for developers and there's little or nothing that's not worth delaying to properly bury the dead and discover their story.

Cynthetiq, the Manahattan story is pretty good version of how the system should work. Those slaves were parents and siblings and deserved the respect that they got.

Ace_O_Spades · 12-01-2006, 10:23 AM

Err on the side of history... When you encounter these sites there is one chance to get it right... if you just plow in, centuries worth of historical preservation waiting to be discovered is lost.

It may be a very plain occurrence, which is most likely, but it also may be another Pompeii...

Stalling human progress isn't a bad thing... We're gonna rape and murder the earth in due time, don't worry.

11-30-2006, 07:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
aberkok “Wrong is right.” Location: toronto	Well... historical discovery is progress. The more we learn about the past, the better informed our decisions can be in the future. Knowledge ought to be more important than renovating. Luckily, it seems the law protects such artifacts. __________________ !check out my new blog! http://arkanamusic.wordpress.com Warden Gentiles: "It? Perfectly innocent. But I can see how, if our roles were reversed, I might have you beaten with a pillowcase full of batteries." Last edited by aberkok; 11-30-2006 at 07:54 PM..

12-01-2006, 12:36 AM	#4 (permalink)
aKula Psycho	I also feel strongly about not losing archeological sites where important discoveries could be made. In cities such as Rome however, it would not be possible to have a functioning city if everything were to be painstakingly excavated. In such a case the only rational thing to do is allow the development to continue. __________________ "I am the wrath of God. The earth I pass will see me and tremble." -Klaus Kinski as Don Lope de Aguirre

12-01-2006, 04:19 AM	#5 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	Several years ago, a college town in Mississippi was trying to pave an access road to the back of the campus and some folks didn't want the paving to occur. So, some of them apparently dumped out a few Indian arrowheads into the dirt and the paving had to stop because the road suddenly became an archeological site. One arrowhead, you see, doesn't mean much - but several of them indicates a village. __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed.

12-01-2006, 04:20 AM	#6 (permalink)
stevie667 Too Awesome for Aardvarks Location: Angloland	My dad has done alot of construction in London, archeology is always a complete PITA because we have very strict laws over here with regards to finds and how they must be dealt with. Two sides of the argument, one wants to see what happened, the other one wants to get paid on schedule. __________________ Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.

12-01-2006, 05:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	Time should always be taken to study - and they do this very well in Britain and other European countries where a significant historical record exists. In most instances, they stop, study, collect artifacts, and whatever construction going on resumes. Not much to ask, and any competant business person in those areas knows to draw in a bit of wiggle room in their budgets and time projections because this is a common occurrence. __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

12-01-2006, 04:50 AM	#7 (permalink)
Pip Likes Hats Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Seems like there's a Bronze Age dwelling or a Viking burial site in the way of every road construction here. It's nice that archaeolgists get some work, but it's not very exciting when they find the 39614th 1000-year-old plain vanilla farmhouse. I imagine it must be even worse in Central and Southern Europe.

12-01-2006, 08:34 AM	#9 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	There's an apartment complex in Knoxville, TN that's sitting on top of a massacre site from the 1780's. One of my parents' neighbors is the archeologist at UT that excavated the site. The apartment developers were greatly pissed off that their project got put on hold for about 6 months but it turned out that there were some major finds, like bodies, equipment, etc. that differed from the survivors' stories. Historically speaking, those are just the breaks for developers and there's little or nothing that's not worth delaying to properly bury the dead and discover their story. Cynthetiq, the Manahattan story is pretty good version of how the system should work. Those slaves were parents and siblings and deserved the respect that they got. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

12-01-2006, 10:23 AM	#10 (permalink)
Ace_O_Spades The Death Card Location: EH!?!?	Err on the side of history... When you encounter these sites there is one chance to get it right... if you just plow in, centuries worth of historical preservation waiting to be discovered is lost. It may be a very plain occurrence, which is most likely, but it also may be another Pompeii... Stalling human progress isn't a bad thing... We're gonna rape and murder the earth in due time, don't worry. __________________ Feh.