Skip to content

Roman coffin as heavy as caravan found by road

National Highways A dug-up grave with a stone coffin inside it and red and white markers placed around the grave.National Highways
The 1,500-year-old Roman coffin will be featured on BBC Two's Digging for Britain on Tuesday

A team of archaeologists working on a road upgrade project have uncovered a Roman stone coffin weighing the same as a small caravan.

The casket, which weighed 118 stones (750kg), was discovered during National Highways' work to transform a section of a road from a single to a dual carriageway on the A47, between Wansford and Sutton near Peterborough.

The 1,500-year-old hand-carved artefact is being featured in the new series of the BBC's Digging for Britain.

Project manager David Harrison, from Headland Archaeology, called it a "fascinating discovery which is quite unique to this region".

'Unusual find'

Over a seven-month period, a team of 52 archaeologists and 20 civil engineers worked on 12 sites on a section of the A47, with specialist support from Museum of London Archaeology, York Archaeology, Heritage 360, CR Conservation and Clivedon Conservation.

Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the east region, said: "While our main focus has been on building a road to improve journeys for road users, it's been extremely satisfying to play a part in uncovering such an unusual archaeological find.

"The coffin was found at what was once a Roman road linking ancient Britain during our work to upgrade a section of the A47 in Cambridgeshire to dual carriageway.

"At National Highways we take great care in recording and safeguarding the country's heritage that is uncovered by our works."

Mr Harrison added: "The coffin is a fascinating discovery which is quite unique to this region. 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."

National Highways Team of workmen wearing red high-visibility suits standing around the grave with a metal fencing around themNational Highways
The Roman stone coffin was removed by archaeologists working with the National Highways team on the A47 upgrade

The show, which is presented by Prof Alice Roberts, is due to be broadcast on BBC Two at 20:00 GMT on Tuesdays to Thursdays for the next two weeks.

It will also feature buried treasures unearthed on National Highways' schemes in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire and Essex.

Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links