Mysterious coffin discovered by archaeologists sheds light on Roman Britain

Roman relics can be found all over Britain, memories from an ancient period in which the Latin conquerors arrived at the country’s shores and took almost everything. 

From Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England to the Segontium in Caernarfon, Wales, our lands are pockmarked with structures that have survived the ages. 

Each artefact sheds life on life in Roman Britain, offering vital clues not only about how the Romans lived back then, but also about how they interacted with the lands that they found themselves in.

More recently, archaeologists in Leeds made a groundbreaking discovery, shedding yet further light on Roman-era Britain.

Experts from West Yorkshire Archaeological Services unearthed a Roman lead coffin, a find described as “truly unique and remarkable” and one of the most significant ever made in the region.

The coffin contained the remains of a woman aged between 25 and 35. Artefacts found alongside her burial—including a bracelet, a glass bead necklace, and a finger ring or earring—suggest that she may have been a woman of some significance, potentially an aristocrat within Roman society. This theory is further supported by the ornate nature of her burial, which was uncommon for the time.

However, the excavation revealed an even more surprising aspect of the find. Upon further examination, archaeologists discovered the remains of a child, believed to have been around 10 years old at the time of death, hidden within the coffin.

The child’s bones were initially overlooked because of their delicate and fragmented nature, making them difficult to identify without further analysis.

Kat Baxter, curator of archaeology at Leeds Museums and Galleries, said at the time: “This is a truly unique and remarkable find, which has potentially huge implications for our understanding of the history of early Leeds and those who made their home here.

“The discovery of the second individual, particularly a child, raises fascinating questions about how people in Roman Britain treated their dead and what this reveals about their social structures and family dynamics.”

The coffin itself is the first of its kind ever found in West Yorkshire, and its discovery is helping archaeologists understand more about the practices surrounding death in the Roman era. The find, along with other artefacts discovered during the excavation, provides a rare glimpse into the lives of people living in Yorkshire over 1,600 years ago.

The Garforth excavation, which took place in 2022, unearthed the remains of over 60 individuals, including men, women, and children who lived in the area during Roman times. The items discovered in the region, along with this recently uncovered burial, are revolutionising our understanding of life in Roman Britain, particularly in the northern provinces.

For the people of Roman Britain, burial practices were often intertwined with complex social and religious beliefs. Roman society in Britain was marked by a blend of native traditions and Roman influences, with varying customs depending on one’s social status and regional background. In urban areas like York and London, lavish graves and monumental tombs for the elite were common, but rural areas saw a more diverse range of burial rites, from cremations to inhumations in stone-built tombs or wooden coffins.

This find at Leeds provides a stark reminder of how death was not only a personal and familial experience but also a reflection of Roman societal structures. The presence of a child within the same coffin as an adult challenges conventional understandings of Roman burial practices and may suggest different rituals surrounding family or communal death customs in the region.

The coffin and its delicate lid are currently being carefully preserved and were displayed at Leeds City Museum as part of the exhibition, Living with Death, which closed on January 5, 2025, but is still available to view online. The exhibition explored global death rituals and mourning practices, and the Roman coffin will take centre stage as one of the central exhibits.

“This find provides us with new opportunities to study life and death in ancient Yorkshire,” said Baxter. “We’re excited to share this extraordinary piece of history with the public and to delve deeper into the rich, complex narratives of Roman Britain.”

As the coffin continues to be analysed, it promises to further illuminate the enigmatic world of Roman Britain and the people who lived there—offering a glimpse into their lives, their customs, and how they grappled with death.