Around 20 Roman-era skulls have been found by workers working on London's billion pound Crossrail project.
The skulls were found beneath Liverpool Street train station where the River Walbrook, a tributary of the Thames, flows. The Walbrook began being covered by buildings in 1440 and it now runs entirely underground, running parallel to a street called Walbrook.
Working under the direction of Crossrail's archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls and Roman pottery which were found under the site of the burial ground of the Bedlam mental hospital (from where we get the word "bedlam" to mean "uproar and confusion").
They were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary.
For safety reasons the archaeologists had to leave the work to the tunnellers as the skulls were buried as deep as 20 feet below ground.
The cross-London scheme has already led to a number of exciting discoveries, including around 4,000 skeletons found buried in the Eldon Street area.
Historically, Roman skulls have been found along the Thames tributary Walbrook during various excavations in the region.
This led to speculation the skulls found were heads decapitated by the army of Queen Boudicca - the Queen of the Iceni tribe of what is now Norfolk - during the rebellion against Roman occupation in 60AD.
Crossrail is Europe's biggest construction project, under way mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency commuter/suburban passenger service that will, from 2018, link parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, via central London, to Essex and South East London. The main feature of the project is the construction of 26 miles of new tunnels and 39 new train stations on 73 miles of new rail line.
Workers on Crossrail have so far found tens of thousands of ancient artefacts.
20 Roman-era skulls uncovered beneath a London railway station may have belonged to decapitated 1st century rebels
Around 20 Roman skulls have been found under Liverpool Street station
They were discovered below the 16th century Bedlam burial ground
Archaeologists think they were washed downstream by the River Walbrook
The Walbrook tributary runs under the middle of the City of London
By Victoria Woollaston
2 October 2013
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
A Crossrail worker holds one of 20 new Roman skulls discovered beneath London's Liverpool Street Station. Are the skulls from the decapitated victims of Boudicca's army?
The 20 skulls were found under London's Liverpool Street train station during work on Crossrail. The main feature of the project is the construction of 26 miles of new tunnels and 39 new train stations on 73 miles of new rail line across London and South East England. It is Europe's biggest construction project
Construction workers in London have made an 'unexpected and fascinating discovery' during work on the city's billion pound Crossrail project.
Around 20 Roman skulls have been unearthed by tunnellers working beneath Liverpool Street Station, where the historic River Walbrook flows.
Working under the direction of Crossrail's archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls and Roman pottery.
They were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary.
For safety reasons the archaeologists had to leave the work to the tunnellers as the skulls were buried as deep as six metres below ground.
The cross-London scheme has already led to a number of exciting discoveries, including around 4,000 skeletons found buried in the Eldon Street area.
These skeletons were found in August and will be carefully removed during major archaeological excavations next year.
The latest discovery of the skulls and pottery was made below the site of the historic Bedlam burial ground.
Bedlam hospital was a psychiatric asylum and patients who died while at the hospital were buried in a cemetery first established in the 16th century.
Historically, Roman skulls have been found along the Thames tributary Walbrook during various excavations in the region.
This led to speculation the skulls found were heads decapitated by Queen Boudicca's army during the rebellion against Roman occupation in the 1st century AD.
Archaeologists, including James Best pictured, believe the skulls may have washed downstream along the River Walbrook. They were found six metres under the ground below what is thought to have been a 16th century burial ground for patients of the Bedlam hospital
Archaeology later suggested the River Walbrook may have eroded a Roman cemetery under Eldon Street, and the skulls and other bones had been washed downstream.
Because the latest skulls were located in clusters, the archaeologists believe this indicates they were caught in a bend in the river and were washed out of the burial ground during Roman times.
Lead archaeologist Jay Carver said: 'This is an unexpected and fascinating discovery that reveals another piece in the jigsaw of London's history.
'This isn't the first time skulls have been found in the bed of the River Walbrook and many early historians suggested these people were killed during the Boudicca rebellion against the Romans.'
He went on: 'The skulls are possibly from a known Roman burial ground about 50 metres up river from our Liverpool Street station work site.
'Their location in the Roman layer indicates they were possibly washed down river during the Roman period.'
The skulls may have belonged to the victims of the revolt of 60AD in which Queen Boudicca of the Iceni led her army against Roman rule after the Romans killed her husband King Prasutagus and raped her two daughters. The Iceni burned down Camulodunum (Colchester) - the capital of the Roman Province of Britannia - and Londinium (London)
One of the Crossrail tunnels at Liverpool Street Station where the skulls and skeletons were discovered. Some archaeologists thought the skulls may have been decapitated in the first century, while others claim the skulls come from an eroded Roman cemetery
The latest skulls were located in clusters indicating they had been caught in a bend in the river. The skulls and skeleton will be removed during archaeological excavations next year
The tunnellers have also discovered wooden medieval structures believed to have been part of the walls of the Bedlam burial ground.
It is thought headstones from the Bedlam cemetery were used as foundations for modern-day buildings.
The hospital was originally called Bethlem – or Bethlehem – and was founded in 1247 by Simon FitzMary, a wealthy former Sheriff of London, as a priory dedicated to St Mary of Bethlem.
Its graveyard was built on the hospital's vegetable patch in the 1560s after churchyards around the city started to overflow.
As well as patients, it was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists.
Bethlem's name quickly became pronounced ‘Bedlam’ by Londoners.
By 1403, the majority of its patients were lunatics. Others suffered from epilepsy, learning disabilities and dementia.
The Museum of London Archaeology will analyse the finds over the coming months and hope to find out more about the age, sex and diet of the people associated with the Roman skulls.
However, it will be difficult to distinguish Bedlam patients from other dead because mental illness will not have left any physical scars on the skeletons.
Investigation: 4,000 skeletons will be disinterred and studied before being reburied elsewhere
In most cases, identification will be impossible, because although some were buried in coffins, any name plates recovered have been too rusty to read.
The dig’s manager, Nick Elsden from the Museum of London Archaeology, is part of a team of more than 100 archaeologists who are examining each of the 40 sites being dug up for Crossrail.
The 73-mile rail line will link the City, Canary Wharf, the West End and Heathrow to commuter areas east and west of London.
LONDON'S LOST RIVERS: THE RIVER WALBROOK
The River Walbrook formed from tributaries coming from Shoreditch, Barbican and merging in the Finsbury Circus area of Central London.
It flows through the middle of the City of London beneath the Bank of England and joins the Thames between Southwark and Cannon Street Bridges.
It is believed to be named after a brook that ran through the London Wall, built by the Romans around London to protect the city.
Romans built the Temple of Mithras, which worshipped the ancient religion of Mithraism, on the banks of the Walbrook in the 3rd century AD.This temple was found during construction work in the 1950's.
Following the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century, Britons were forced to live on the east bank of the Walbrook, while the Saxons lived on the west.
The Walbrook began being covered by buildings in 1440 and it now runs entirely underground, running parallel to a street called Walbrook.
Source: London's Lost Rivers
WHAT WAS BEDLAM HOSPITAL?
The hospital was originally called Bethlem – or Bethlehem - Hospital was founded in 1247 by Simon FitzMary, a wealthy former Sheriff of London.
Its graveyard was built on the hspital’s vegetable patch in the 1560s after churchyards around the city started to overflow.
Bethlem's name quickly became pronounced ‘Bedlam’ by Londoners.
By 1403, the majority of its patients were lunatics. Others suffered from epilepsy, learning disabilities and dementia.
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