Construction Workers Discover Ancient Stone Coffin Filled With Plaster While Expanding Highway in England

Construction crews working on a highway in Britain have unearthed an ancient, hand-carved stone coffin that weighs as much as a large male polar bear—some 1,650 pounds. According to a statement from England’s motorway maintenance company National Highways, the coffin dates back more than 1,500 years to Britain’s Roman era.

Workers made the discovery just outside the eastern city of Peterborough while upgrading a section of a major highway—the A47—that was once a Roman road, as Chris Griffin, National Highways’ program leader, says in the statement.

“It’s been extremely satisfying to play a part in uncovering such an usual archaeological find,” says Griffin. “At National Highways, we take great care in recording and safeguarding the country’s heritage that is uncovered by our works.”

After the construction workers discovered the coffin, a team of researchers from Headland Archaeology began safely excavating it—and they found something strange inside: According to the BBC, which will feature the find on its archaeology program “Digging for Britain,” the coffin was filled with white plaster.

Similar burials from Roman Britain have been found in the past. In 2023, researchers in York studied several 1,700-year-old Roman coffins that contained hardened gypsum, which is often a component of plaster. Per a statement from the University of York, “For reasons archaeologists do not entirely understand, the Romans sometimes poured liquid gypsum … over the clothed bodies of adults and children in lead or stone coffins before burying them.” Over the centuries, the decomposing bodies left cavities inside the hardened mineral casings. At least 45 such burials have been found near York since the late 1800s.

The recently discovered coffin triggered an excavation of the surrounding area. As BBC News’ Shariqua Ahmed reports, 52 archaeologists and 20 civil engineers worked for seven months to excavate this section of the A47, supported by several heritage, archaeology and conservation organizations. According to the BBC, “The stone sarcophagus was the centerpiece of an entire Roman cemetery, surrounded by a remarkable collection of other burials.”

The team thinks this particular burial held an individual of high status, as the coffin was finely crafted and the gypsum would have been expensive, per a statement from Headland Archaeology. It contained no grave goods, though researchers uncovered a glass vessel, pottery, pieces of animal bone and fragments of leather nearby.

The Roman Empire began its conquest of Britain under the leadership of the emperor Claudius in 43 C.E. The Romans controlled the province, known as “Britannia,” through the early fifth century, influencing development of towns and civic life.

Researchers have found countless Roman artifacts and sites in Britain. Recent discoveries include roads, a decorated helmet and an entire villa. The stone sarcophagus and its surrounding small cemetery will help historians learn more about the lives of the region’s inhabitants under Roman influence.

“The coffin is a fascinating discovery which is quite unique to this region,” says David Harrison, project manager at Headland Archaeology, in National Highways’ statement. “Its careful excavation and recording, both in the field and the laboratory, allows us to continue to learn how our Roman ancestors lived and died.”

Sonja Anderson | READ MORE

Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in New York City.