Skeleton in Roman sarcophagus may identify medieval abbot
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Archaeologists in London believe they are closer to identifying a skeleton discovered in a Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey.
Workers first found the sarcophagus in 1820, then officially in 1869, with an inscription linking it to Valerius Amandinus, a wealthy Briton from around A.D. 300-400. However, a later Latin cross carved into the lid suggested the remains belonged to someone who died centuries later.
Warwick Rodwell, an archaeologist at Westminster Abbey, analyzed the skeleton and determined the individual was a high-ranking medieval monk. He proposes two likely candidates: Aelfwig, who died around 1020 after serving as abbot, and Wulnoth, Aelfwig’s successor who died in 1049. Rodwell notes that both men would have been the appropriate age based on the skeleton's estimated age at death. Recent excavations connected to the construction of the King Charles III Sacristy allowed researchers to re-examine the sarcophagus and skeleton.
James Young Langthorne, a bone specialist, calculated the individual was between 35 and 49 years old and approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall. Carbon dating placed the death between A.D. 987 and 1052, confirming the sarcophagus was reused during the late Saxon period. Researchers also found evidence of a decayed wooden coffin that originally contained the remains, showing the abbey honored the monk with the stone sarcophagus.
The sarcophagus and skeleton are currently on display at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries.
