Mystery skeleton found in Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey may finally have an identity
The identity of a mysterious skeleton found in a Roman sarcophagus in the grounds of Westminster Abbey more than 150 years ago appears closer to being solved.
© Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd. Images edited with permission from Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd.
The identity of a mysterious skeleton found in a Roman sarcophagus in the grounds of Westminster Abbey more than 150 years ago appears closer to being solved.
When the limestone sarcophagus was excavated at the Abbey in 1869, it was found bearing an inscription to Valerius Amandinus – a wealthy Briton who lived in the city around 300 to 400 AD.
However, sculpted on the lid was a Latin cross from dating from approximately the 10th or 11th century suggesting that the human remains which were found within may belong to someone who had died many centuries later – their identity has been a mystery ever since.
Now, a new analysis, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the British Archaeological Association, by Professor Warwick Rodwell, Consultant Archaeologist at Westminster Abbey concludes that the bones belonged to a high-ranking medieval monk.
Professor Rodwell believes the most likely candidate is Aelfwig who died around 1020 after a career as an Abbot at Westminster Abbey, then a Benedictine monastery.
Another is Aelfwig’s successor Wulnoth who died in 1049 and is presumed to have been buried at the Abbey, as was Aelfwig.
“We have two viable contenders for the occupant of the sarcophagus,” says Professor Rodwell, Consultant Archaeologist at Westminster Abbey.
“We do not know the date of birth of either. But either would fit equally well if we assume the Abbot was in his early twenties when the appointment was made and close to fifty when he died.
“The fact Aelfwig was already a monk of Westminster might favour him.”
Another clue that suggests the skeleton belonged to an Abbot lies in the fact the occupant was ‘honoured’ with a ‘fine sarcophagus’. His wooden coffin was placed inside the stone burial casket in what could represent an early example of recycling. The lid was then re-carved to feature a large Latin cross, according to Professor Rodwell .
The skeleton and Roman sarcophagus have been the subject of extensive research and discussion over the years.
These latest findings provide fresh insights into its history. They result from a series of extensive analyses by Professor Rodwell with the assistance of other experts.
They include Channel 4’s Time Team who examined the archaeology and structure of King Henry III’s original sacristy on the north side of Westminster Abbey in 2009.
This was the area of the Abbey where in 1820 workmen accidentally unearthed the sarcophagus, smashing the lid into six pieces. The damage was repaired when the Roman coffin was later officially ‘discovered’ in 1869.
A present-day excavation of the sacristy was carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology, one of the UK’s largest commercial archaeological and heritage practices. Completed in 2025, the work was necessary to enable the building of the King Charles III Sacristy at the Abbey which is set to open next year.
This project included an analysis of the skeleton found in the sarcophagus by human bone specialist James Young Langthorne from Pre-Construct Archaeology (PCA).
He determined the age of the deceased man to be between 35 and 49 and around 5ft 9 ins in height. This differs from an assessment in the 1800s which suggested it was a ‘robust young man’, around 5ft 7ins and aged no more than 30 years old.
A bone sample was also sent to the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre for carbon dating. Results indicated a date of 987 to 1052 AD. Says Professor Rodwell: “This confirms that the reuse of the sarcophagus, and the associated remodelling of its cover, occurred in the late Saxon period.”
In his article, Professor Rodwell also explains how it had been believed the skeleton had been lost. However, this was shown not to be the case when the stone coffin was sent to a conservation studio in 2016. When PCA researchers lifted the lid, they found to their surprise an almost-complete skeleton inside.
Professor Rodwell details another ‘remarkable new discovery’ in his paper. The researchers in 2016 found an outline of rectangular structure in the sarcophagus. This was marked out in a white residue which had been left by lime, a substance traditionally used in burials.
“Although no physical traces of that feature remained, it can only have been a timber coffin, which has completely decayed over the course of the seven centuries that the sarcophagus was buried in the sacristy courtyard,” writes Professor Rodwell.
The sarcophagus is on public display in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey.