A Roman stone coffin was unearthed during works to upgrade a section of the A47 in Cambridgeshire.
It was found in a small Roman roadside cemetery discovered during National Highways’ scheme to upgrade a section of the A47 between Wansford and Sutton near Peterborough from a single to a dual carriageway.
Archaeologists from Headland Archaeology said the enormous hand-carved artefact weighs 750kg – the equivalent of an adult male polar bear. They said it had remained undisturbed since its burial in Roman times more than 1,500 years ago.
National Highways is upgrading 2.5km of the A47 between Wansford and Sutton as part of a wider scheme to improve six sections of the A road linking Birmingham to Lowestoft in Suffolk.
Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the east region, said: “While our main focus has been on building a road to improve journeys for road users, it’s been extremely satisfying to play a part in uncovering such an unusual archaeological find.”
Project manager David Harrison from Headland Archaeology added: “The coffin is a fascinating discovery which is quite unique to this region. Its careful excavation and recording, both in the field and the laboratory, allows us to continue to learn how our Roman ancestors lived and died.”
The find will be featured in the new series of BBC’s Digging for Britain on 7 January.
