Posted on 05/11/2006 2:29:30 PM PDT by blam
Roman graveyard found in quarry
The cemetery contains the remains of more than 100 people
Archaeologists have unearthed a large Roman cemetery in a Gloucestershire gravel quarry. More than 100 people are believed to have been buried at the site, near Fairford, which dates back 1,600 years.
It is thought the dead were interred according to their age, as children's bodies have been found in one area with adults in another section.
Experts said the find is unusual because no big settlements are known to have existed nearby in the Roman era.
Dr Alex Smith, Oxford Archaeology's project manager said: "Large Roman cemeteries like this are usually only found around towns or substantial settlements, but no such site has been found here yet.
"We believe a small Roman farm lies immediately to the west, and it may be that the cemetery acted as a communal burial ground for the local rural population."
He added: "We hope that further work will reveal more of how people lived and died in this region, around 1,600 years ago."
GGG Ping.
Leave the dead alone.....
Must be limestone country; that is excellent bone preservation for 1600 years of interment. In some of the low pH areas here in East Texas, skeletons virtually disappear in a few hundred years.
Wow, we were just reading today about Julius Caesar and his battles in Britain.
Thanks. One of the reasons I love Free Republic!
How long before they make it into a parking lot?
Me, too!
Many thanks to all who contribute to GGG!
Roman Emperor Trajan88 says... you found my relatives... and declares "thank you" with a thumbs-up ;-)
Yup. It's so bad here (Mobile), many of the Civil War dead are already 'gone.'
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It's a gravel quarry. If they're anything like the "Dump-truck Mafia"* in MA, they will:
No, the parking lot will be where the 12th Century church is. A Wal Mart SuperCentre will be built on the graves.
Stop all scientific enquiries immediately. Please notify me when this has been done worldwide. Otherwise, we might upset Meadow Muffin
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