Roman funerary bed found in central London
about 8 months ago (02/05/2024)
Roman funerary bed found in central London Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Archaeology news Roman funerary bed found in central London Archaeologists are "blown away" by the levels of preservation of the finds at Holborn Viaduct, which also include five oak coffins, a decorated lamp, a glass vial, and jet and amber beads Maev Kennedy 5 February 2024 Share The funerary bed being excavated and a reconstruction © MOLA A Roman oak bed, on which a dead person may have been carried to a grave now lying six metres below the surface of modern London, has been excavated along with a wealth of startlingly well preserved finds spanning many centuries, by archaeologists working in advance of a huge office development at Holborn Viaduct. The timber has been preserved by the water-logged soil around the lost river Fleet, which was infamous as a reeking open sewer by the time it was covered over in the early 19th century. Although the dead are commonly depicted as lying on beds in Roman funerary sculpture, real beds used in burials are very rare finds, and this is the first complete example ever found in Britain—though a much later Anglo-Saxon bed burial of a young woman was found in Cambridgeshire in 2012.