Lead Coffin Found 11 Miles East of Rome

[Ludovicus]

This discovery is at least a year old, nonetheless it's quite interesting:

 

 

Who or what is inside is still a mystery, said Nicola Terrenato, the University of Michigan professor of classical studies who leads the project

[Galba]

 

Not as Impressive as one would expect. But still mysterious none the less...

[Ludovicus]

 

Not as Impressive as one would expect. But still mysterious none the less...

 

 

Yes, not what I had imagined, Galba. I seem to remember reading that around the time of Christopher Columbus, a Roman lead sarcophagus was found. Opening it, the discoverers found a perfectly intact Roman girl preserved in oil. They removed her and put her on display. By the end of that first day her body began to decompose terribly. I don't think we have a similar find here from the 2009 discovery, given the condition of the coffin. Nonetheless, I'd be interested in knowing more info. on the 15th-century recovery of the young Roman girl entombed in oil.

[Galba]

Oh yes, I also read somewhere Its a shame that they didn't have our modern methods of preservation and this interesting "Freeze" of history is lost.

[Viggen]

in case someone wants to follow up on this story and the Gabii project, here are some official links,

 

Official Flickr

Official blog

 

cheers

viggen

[Centurion-Macro]

That is odd, as I believe that most Romans were cremated.

 

~A lead coffin would be very heavy though wouldn't it? It seems an unusual metal to use for a coffin in my opinion...

[Melvadius]

There are several works on Roman burial practices which show that within the confines of the empire the precise method used varied from period to period and indeed area to area. At different times a wide range of burial practices were undertaken - cremation is the best known and often cited but was not universally practiced eg the recent theread mentioning the discovery of clay coffins in Cyprus. Inhumations were increasingly popular from the second and third centuries onwards but were also practiced in earlier periods. In some cemeteries. such as Larkhill near Winchester, methods can be seen to vary over time (as did the alignment of inhumation grave cuts - whether n/s or w/e).

 

N.B. Variations in the presence of and nature of grave goods and other burial practices can often be used as a good indicator of possible dates even without scientific ananlysis.

 

Within this spectrum the use of lead 'caskets' is a rare feature of a relatively few 'rich' burials which are primarily found in areas like Britain and Germany, where lead was more readily available than in Italy, thus the interest in this particular burial.