Emily Chan
In the northeastern French city of Reims, an ancient stone sarcophagus containing a skeleton was uncovered while archaeologists were excavating a necropolis. The discovery was made on September 19 and dates back to the Roman era.
The sarcophagus is around 1,800 years old and is made from limestone extracted from the region. It is 5.4 feet long, 2.6 feet wide, and includes a lid weighing 1,700 pounds. The lid was fastened in place with eight iron pegs that had been sealed with lead.
A team of archaeologists conducted X-rays on the sarcophagus and then used an endoscopic camera to determine its dimensions before removing the lid.
They discovered that a skeleton of a woman was inside, along with a few accessories, such as a small mirror, an amber ring, and a comb. In addition, four oil lamps had been situated near her shoulders and legs.
According to Agnès Balmelle, an assistant director at the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research, the tomb was found completely intact and showed no signs of being raided by looters, which was surprising since most of the burials that archaeologists have unearthed had been tampered with over the centuries.
The skeleton took up the entire space of the sarcophagus. Experts think that the woman was around 40 years old when she passed, and the objects found buried with her signify that she must’ve been a figure of importance. The age of the items indicates that her burial occurred during the second century A.D.
Researchers will take samples from the bones and the bottom of the stone coffin to determine how the individual may have been treated medicinally, if at all.
They will also extract DNA from the skeleton’s teeth and compare it to other previously found samples to figure out who the woman descended from.
Some damage to her skeleton has led archaeologists to believe that she was a worker of some sort. One side of her body contains evidence of osteoarthritis, showing that she had engaged in repetitive movement.
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