Old bones..

Interesting find in London

Archaeologists working on the London Crossrail project have unearthed 20 skulls, believed to have once belonged to Romans.

 Working under the direction of  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.

Roman skulls have been found along the historic Thames tributary the River Walbrook throughout London's history. This led to speculation they were heads decapitated by Queen Boudicca's rebels during the rebellion against Roman occupation in the 1st century AD.

"This isn't the first time that skulls have been found in the bed of the River Walbrook and many early historians suggested these people were killed during the Boudicca rebellion against the Romans."

He went on: "We now think the skulls are possibly from a known Roman burial ground about 50 metres up river from our Liverpool Street station work site. Their location in the Roman layer indicates they were possibly washed down river during the Roman period."

The tunnellers have also discovered wooden medieval structures believed to have been part of the walls of the Bedlam burial ground.

The Museum of London Archaeology will analyse the finds over the coming months and hope to find out more about the age, sex and diet of the people associated with the Roman skulls.