Working under the direction of Crossrail‘s archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls and Roman pottery found in the sediment of the historic channel of the River Walbrook.
The skulls were found below the Bedlam burial ground established in the 16th century, where 3,000 skeletons will be carefully removed during major archaeological excavations next year.
For safety reasons, the archaeologists have had to leave the archaeology work to the tunnellers as the skulls were up to six meters below ground.
Roman skulls have been found along the historic Thames tributary of the River Walbrook throughout London’s history. This led to speculation that these heads are the ones which were decapitated by Queen Boudicca‘s rebels during the rebellion against Roman occupation in the 1st century A.D.
However, later archaeology suggested that the River Walbrook possibly eroded a Roman cemetery under Eldon Street in the Liverpool Street area and the skulls along with other bones had been washed downstream.
The latest skulls were located in clusters, indicating they were caught in a bend in the river. The location of the skulls indicates that they were washed out of the burial ground during Roman times.
Lead archaeologist Jay Carver said, “This is an unexpected and fascinating discovery that reveals another piece in the jigsaw of London’s history.”
The tunnellers have also discovered a wooden medieval structure which was believed to have been part of the walls of the Bedlam burial ground.
The Museum of London Archaeology will analyze the findings over the coming months and hope to find out more about the age, sex and diet of the people associated with the Roman skulls.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com