Mystery of Westminster Abbey's Roman Sarcophagus Solved

The limestone sarcophagus was excavated on the North Green in 1869. It bears an inscription to Valerius Amandinus – a wealthy Briton who lived in the city in around 300 to 400 AD.

Also sculpted on the lid however is a Latin cross dating from the 10th or 11th century, suggesting that the human remains which were found within might belong to an Anglo-Saxon who had died many centuries later, when the coffin was re-used. The identity of that person has been a mystery ever since.

Now new research by the Abbey's Consultant Archaeologist, Professor Warwick Rodwell, published in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association, concludes that the bones belonged to a high-ranking medieval monk.

Professor Rodwell believes the most likely candidate is Aelfwig, who served as Abbot of the medieval Benedictine monastery and died in around 1020. Another possibility is Aelfwig’s successor, Wulnoth, who died in 1049 and is also presumed to have been buried at the Abbey.

Reflecting on his research, Professor Rodwell said: 'We have two viable contenders for the occupant of the sarcophagus. 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 burial in a ‘fine sarcophagus’. His wooden coffin was placed inside the stone burial casket and the lid was then re-carved to feature a large Latin cross.

The skeleton and Roman sarcophagus have been the subject of extensive research and discussion over the years, with these latest findings providing fresh insights into its history. They result from a series of extensive analyses by Professor Rodwell with the assistance of other experts.

Among them is 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, confirming that the reuse of the sarcophagus, and the associated remodelling of its cover, occurred in the late Saxon period.