Skeletons

How did a skeleton end up in a school?

A housing estate was recently built on a school playing field in Bristol. As the builders began their work they began to start finding objects.

So the builders called in some local archaeologists. They said that the pottery was 1600 to 2000 years old. They also made an astonishing find -  a stone coffin. This is called a sarcophagus. 

To read a report of what they found click on the Archaeologists Report.

Here are some questions for you to think about:

• Do you think the people were Christian?
• Do you think the man and woman were young when they died?
• Do you think there was a Roman building nearby?
• What do you think the rusty nails were for?
• Do we know why two people were buried in the same coffin?

This page is based upon a BBC programme ‘Meet the ancestors’. There
is more information availble on the BBC website. 

A book of the BBC series can be purchased online: