Romans go (to your new) home
Actually the grumpy beggars went on Tuesday. The dp transported them by taxi to their new home - travelling in style, eh?! They've been in something of a social whirl. Lying there quietly for 1700 years. Then suddenly uncovered, sketched and photographed, then yanked out of the ground without a by-your-leave, stuffed into a plastic bag and placed (not dumped, mind!) under a nice, closed and cosy canopy for a couple of days. When I had to pop out there I did say hello, but I didn't get a reply from the sullen old codgers.Now at the labs, they'll be carefully washed. After that, some of them will be reunited with parts dug up last year. Some bits of the present bunch stayed in the ground as the builders hadn't got to their section until now. So happy story on that front. Except that they'll still need to be studied, which will mean being laid out on a table, and possibly having some analsyses - extraction of bone, dental enamel, or some such. But much of the recording will entail measurements and observation of marks on the bones.
When will all this excitement stop for them? Perhaps when the results are published. Then it may well be storage in nice boxes in a warehouse somewhere. Re-burial gets difficult with Roman skeles as we can't assume they're Christian! I've heard of large medieval collections being given another Christian burial and duly blessed, but I'm not sure about this lot of motley Romans!
posted by Alex Bordessa @ Saturday, February 04, 2006
3 Comments:
But will the leg bones yield up the greatest secret of them all: were they, or were they not, no stranger to trousers?
It might be a useful way of either working out if they were (early) Romans or if they were locals :-)
Alex, this is fascinating. My son and I have an interest in archaeology. My son is 15. Do you have tips for him about becoming involved in the industry?
Thanks!
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