Soggy Romans: Wet weather vs fair weather archaeology

Archaeologists have lifted the lid on Roman history in the North-East of England. I’m not punning for the sake of it: they have literally lifted the lid off two coffins that have been discovered on a building site in ewcastle. You can see a video of the actual event on the BBC News website . Given the parlous state of our summer you won’t be surprised to note that the coffin in question was brimful of muddy water once they craned the heavy stone top away. You might have thought that such an ingress of brown muck wouldn’t be a terribly promising state of affairs for the archaeologists, but in fact, there’s a strong tradition of great Roman remains from the vicinity of Hadrian’s Wall coming out of waterlogged deposits. I’m thinking of course of the Vindolanda tablets, the wooden records of everyday life on the Roman frontier that were famously preserved by lying for centuries in a protective layer of sealed damp clay.

So, once the water had been drained away, the remains of a female were found in the muddy floor of the coffin. They bones looked very much the worse for wear but the archaeologists are shown in the video very carefully trowelling around them. I’ve done that task myself, spending several happy but very very muddy days trying not to damage Bronze Age wooden remains in various waterlogged holes in the Somerset Levels. It’s not terribly glamorous but anaerobic conditions are marvellous for preserving organic matter so it’s a job worth doing.