Archaeologists have uncovered a ritual burial of 2,000-year-old human skulls - sparking the theory they could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels - as the London Crossrail excavations continue.
The latest discovery of cremated human bones packed neatly into a cooking pot and set off at the side of the historic River Walbrook, in London, has experts questioning whether they were part of a gruesome ceremony.
When about 20 skulls were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary in 2013 it had been thought that they had got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise.
The estimated age of the human remains and the way they appear to have been disposed of has led to the suggestion that the bones could even be Boudicca's rebels.
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels.
A spokesman for London Crossrail confirmed the team was working up a number of theories.
He said: 'We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it.'
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca (whose names meant "Victoria") of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum (now Colchester), Londinium (now London), and Verulamium (now St Albans), being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives. Camulodunun was the Roman Province of Britannia's first capital before it moved to Londinium.
Crossrail is a 73-mile railway line under construction in London and its environs. It should begin full operation in 2018 with a new east-west route across Greater London. 26 miles of new tunnels and 40 new stations are being constructed. Work on it has uncovered thousands of skeletons and historical artefacts.
Have the remains of Boudicca's rebels been uncovered by London's Crossrail project? Excavations uncover ritual burial of human bones from 2,000 years ago
Seven human skulls, nearly 2,000 years old, have so far been uncovered
It is thought they were discarded as part of ritual burial on River Walbrook
Sparked the theory the skulls could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels
Excavation of 3,000 skeletons at new Liverpool Street site is now complete
By Sam Tonkin For Mailonline
27 April 2015
Daily Mail
Archaeologists have uncovered a ritual burial of 2,000-year-old human skulls - sparking the theory they could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels - as the London Crossrail excavations continue.
The latest discovery of cremated human bones packed neatly into a cooking pot and set off at the side of the historic River Walbrook, in London, has experts questioning whether they were part of a gruesome ceremony.
When about 20 skulls were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary in 2013 it had been thought that they had got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise.
'No answers': Archaeologists have uncovered a ritual burial of 2,000-year-old human skulls - sparking the theory they could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels. The bones were packed neatly into a cooking pot
Different theory: When 20 skulls were found in the River Walbrook it had been thought they got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels
The estimated age of the human remains and the way they appear to have been disposed of has led to the suggestion that the bones could even be Boudicca's rebels.
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels.
A spokesman for London Crossrail confirmed the team was working up a number of theories.
He said: 'We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it.'
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum (now Colchester), Londinium (now London), and Verulamium (now St Albans), being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
New find: The Crossrail team said a connection was not currently being made between the skulls and Boudicca's rebels but the possibility has not been ruled out. The skeleton above was found at an earlier date
Careful work: The excavation of 3,000 skeletons (pictured) from Bedlam burial ground, at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network, has now been completed
The Crossrail team spokesman said a connection was not currently being made between the skulls from 2,000 years ago and Boudicca's rebels but the possibility has not been ruled out.
Work to excavate 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network, has now been completed.
It took a team of 60 archaeologists four weeks, working six days a week, to remove the remains and record evidence for what may prove to be, in archaeological terms, London's most valuable 16th and 17th Century cemetery site.
Among the skeletons discovered at the burial site - used from 1569 until at least 1738, including the Great Plague in 1665 - were a mother a her child buried side-by-side. They have now been transferred to the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).
Crossrail workers are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - which was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow
Continuing the search: Workers are now digging through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site. Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and resulted in Camulodunum, now Colchester, Londinium, and Verulamium, now St Albans, being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives
Crossrail workers are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - which was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as patients from Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe.
Workers are now digging through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site.
Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September, after which construction will proceed on a new eastern ticket hall.
Speaking last month, Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.
We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it
'The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London's history, including the transition from the Tudor-period city into cosmopolitan early-modern London.
'This is probably the first time a sample of this size from this time period has been available for archaeologists to study in London.
'Bedlam was used by a hugely diverse population from right across the social spectrum and from different areas of the city.'
The Museum of London Archaeology is undertaking the archaeological excavations at Liverpool Street on behalf of Crossrail.
Scientific analysis of the remains will help provide new insights into the lives and deaths of early modern Londoners.
So far, Crossrail has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning many years of London's past across more than 40 construction sites. It is the UK's largest archaeology project.
In 2013 and 2014, preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street site in 2013 and 2014 uncovered more than 400 skeletons and numerous artefacts.
TAKING ON THE ROMAN ARMY: THE FAILED BOUDICCAN REVOLT OF 60-61AD
Revolt: Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who tried to defeat the Roman army
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Her name is an early word for the more commonly known name 'Victoria'.
Her husband, Prasutagus, was ruler of the Iceni people, and the Romans allowed Prasutagus to continue as king, ruling on their behalf.
But, when Prasutagus died, the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and they confiscated the property of the leading Iceni families.
The Romans are also said to have stripped and whipped Boudicca, and raped her daughters. As a result, Boudicca and her Iceni rose up in revolt.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St Albans) being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
As the symbol of Roman rule in Britain, Camulodunum, the capital of the province, was the first target of the rebels, with its Temple dedicated to Claudius, the emperor who personally led the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD, seen in British eyes as the "arx aeternae dominationis" ("stronghold of everlasting domination"). It had also been paid for through local taxes and built with slave labour of the Britons.
The town was destroyed, with survivors taking refuge in the cella of the Temple, whose large bronze doors and strong, windowless chamber provided a safe haven. However, the rebels laid siege to the Temple, which was stormed after two days. Those hiding in the Temple were slaughtered and it was burnt down.
Tacitus wrote: "In the attack everything was broken down and burnt. The temple where the soldiers had congregated was besieged for two days and then sacked."
The rebels burnt down the Temple of Claudius in Camulodunum and slaughtered those Romans hiding inside
The decapitated bronze head of a statue of Claudius was found in the River Alde in Suffolk and has been interpreted as having been taken from the Temple of Claudius by the Iceni.
'They could not wait to cut throats, hang, burn, crucify,' wrote the Roman historian Tacitus.
'In the groves of their terrible dark goddess, Andraste, they tortured their captives to death, sewing the severed breasts of the women to their lips, and impaling others on stakes driven through their bodies.
'No cruelty was too great. When the oppressed rise up against cruel oppressors, restraint is rare.'
The Iceni moved on to Londinium, burning it to the ground, and then did the same to Verulamium.
The Iceni burnt Londinium to the ground
As many as 70,000 people died in the three towns.
The revolt ended at the Battle of Watling Street. The Iceni were utterly crushed. When Boudicca realised the day was lost, she took poison.
Camulodunum and its Temple were rebuilt in the years after the attack, with the Temple being one of the main public buildings in the town. Today it forms part of the Norman Colchester Castle.
Even today, whenever anyone digs to a certain depth in Colchester or the City of London (the original Roman part of the city), a layer of red/pink ash is revealed, the evidence of the burning.
TWENTY ROMAN SKULLS UNEARTHED DURING LONDON CROSSRAIL PROJECT
The Crossrail project has already unearthed a number of exciting discoveries, including more than 10,000 artefacts at more than 40 construction sites.
In 2013, workers made an 'unexpected and fascinating discovery' in tunnels underneath Liverpool Street Station, where the historic River Walbrook flows.
The Crossrail team unearthed about 20 Roman skulls which were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary.
The Crossrail team unearthed Roman skulls in 2013, which had been buried in clusters at Bedlam
Working under the direction of archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls, as well as a collection of ancient Roman pottery.
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 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.
Prior to the discovery of the Roman skulls, workers also found about 4,000 skeletons buried in the Eldon Street area.
These skeletons were found in August 2013 and were carefully removed during major archaeological excavations last year
Read more: Have the remains of Boudicca's rebels been uncovered by London's Crossrail project? Excavations uncover ritual burial of human bones from 2,000 years ago* | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
The latest discovery of cremated human bones packed neatly into a cooking pot and set off at the side of the historic River Walbrook, in London, has experts questioning whether they were part of a gruesome ceremony.
When about 20 skulls were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary in 2013 it had been thought that they had got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise.
The estimated age of the human remains and the way they appear to have been disposed of has led to the suggestion that the bones could even be Boudicca's rebels.
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels.
A spokesman for London Crossrail confirmed the team was working up a number of theories.
He said: 'We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it.'
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca (whose names meant "Victoria") of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum (now Colchester), Londinium (now London), and Verulamium (now St Albans), being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives. Camulodunun was the Roman Province of Britannia's first capital before it moved to Londinium.
Crossrail is a 73-mile railway line under construction in London and its environs. It should begin full operation in 2018 with a new east-west route across Greater London. 26 miles of new tunnels and 40 new stations are being constructed. Work on it has uncovered thousands of skeletons and historical artefacts.
Have the remains of Boudicca's rebels been uncovered by London's Crossrail project? Excavations uncover ritual burial of human bones from 2,000 years ago
Seven human skulls, nearly 2,000 years old, have so far been uncovered
It is thought they were discarded as part of ritual burial on River Walbrook
Sparked the theory the skulls could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels
Excavation of 3,000 skeletons at new Liverpool Street site is now complete
By Sam Tonkin For Mailonline
27 April 2015
Daily Mail
Archaeologists have uncovered a ritual burial of 2,000-year-old human skulls - sparking the theory they could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels - as the London Crossrail excavations continue.
The latest discovery of cremated human bones packed neatly into a cooking pot and set off at the side of the historic River Walbrook, in London, has experts questioning whether they were part of a gruesome ceremony.
When about 20 skulls were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary in 2013 it had been thought that they had got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise.
'No answers': Archaeologists have uncovered a ritual burial of 2,000-year-old human skulls - sparking the theory they could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels. The bones were packed neatly into a cooking pot
Different theory: When 20 skulls were found in the River Walbrook it had been thought they got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels
The estimated age of the human remains and the way they appear to have been disposed of has led to the suggestion that the bones could even be Boudicca's rebels.
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels.
A spokesman for London Crossrail confirmed the team was working up a number of theories.
He said: 'We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it.'
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum (now Colchester), Londinium (now London), and Verulamium (now St Albans), being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
New find: The Crossrail team said a connection was not currently being made between the skulls and Boudicca's rebels but the possibility has not been ruled out. The skeleton above was found at an earlier date
Careful work: The excavation of 3,000 skeletons (pictured) from Bedlam burial ground, at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network, has now been completed
The Crossrail team spokesman said a connection was not currently being made between the skulls from 2,000 years ago and Boudicca's rebels but the possibility has not been ruled out.
Work to excavate 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network, has now been completed.
It took a team of 60 archaeologists four weeks, working six days a week, to remove the remains and record evidence for what may prove to be, in archaeological terms, London's most valuable 16th and 17th Century cemetery site.
Among the skeletons discovered at the burial site - used from 1569 until at least 1738, including the Great Plague in 1665 - were a mother a her child buried side-by-side. They have now been transferred to the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).
Crossrail workers are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - which was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow
Continuing the search: Workers are now digging through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site. Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and resulted in Camulodunum, now Colchester, Londinium, and Verulamium, now St Albans, being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives
Crossrail workers are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - which was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as patients from Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe.
Workers are now digging through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site.
Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September, after which construction will proceed on a new eastern ticket hall.
Speaking last month, Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.
We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it
'The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London's history, including the transition from the Tudor-period city into cosmopolitan early-modern London.
'This is probably the first time a sample of this size from this time period has been available for archaeologists to study in London.
'Bedlam was used by a hugely diverse population from right across the social spectrum and from different areas of the city.'
The Museum of London Archaeology is undertaking the archaeological excavations at Liverpool Street on behalf of Crossrail.
Scientific analysis of the remains will help provide new insights into the lives and deaths of early modern Londoners.
So far, Crossrail has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning many years of London's past across more than 40 construction sites. It is the UK's largest archaeology project.
In 2013 and 2014, preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street site in 2013 and 2014 uncovered more than 400 skeletons and numerous artefacts.
TAKING ON THE ROMAN ARMY: THE FAILED BOUDICCAN REVOLT OF 60-61AD
Revolt: Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who tried to defeat the Roman army
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Her name is an early word for the more commonly known name 'Victoria'.
Her husband, Prasutagus, was ruler of the Iceni people, and the Romans allowed Prasutagus to continue as king, ruling on their behalf.
But, when Prasutagus died, the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and they confiscated the property of the leading Iceni families.
The Romans are also said to have stripped and whipped Boudicca, and raped her daughters. As a result, Boudicca and her Iceni rose up in revolt.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St Albans) being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
As the symbol of Roman rule in Britain, Camulodunum, the capital of the province, was the first target of the rebels, with its Temple dedicated to Claudius, the emperor who personally led the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD, seen in British eyes as the "arx aeternae dominationis" ("stronghold of everlasting domination"). It had also been paid for through local taxes and built with slave labour of the Britons.
The town was destroyed, with survivors taking refuge in the cella of the Temple, whose large bronze doors and strong, windowless chamber provided a safe haven. However, the rebels laid siege to the Temple, which was stormed after two days. Those hiding in the Temple were slaughtered and it was burnt down.
Tacitus wrote: "In the attack everything was broken down and burnt. The temple where the soldiers had congregated was besieged for two days and then sacked."
The rebels burnt down the Temple of Claudius in Camulodunum and slaughtered those Romans hiding inside
The decapitated bronze head of a statue of Claudius was found in the River Alde in Suffolk and has been interpreted as having been taken from the Temple of Claudius by the Iceni.
'They could not wait to cut throats, hang, burn, crucify,' wrote the Roman historian Tacitus.
'In the groves of their terrible dark goddess, Andraste, they tortured their captives to death, sewing the severed breasts of the women to their lips, and impaling others on stakes driven through their bodies.
'No cruelty was too great. When the oppressed rise up against cruel oppressors, restraint is rare.'
The Iceni moved on to Londinium, burning it to the ground, and then did the same to Verulamium.
As many as 70,000 people died in the three towns.
The revolt ended at the Battle of Watling Street. The Iceni were utterly crushed. When Boudicca realised the day was lost, she took poison.
Camulodunum and its Temple were rebuilt in the years after the attack, with the Temple being one of the main public buildings in the town. Today it forms part of the Norman Colchester Castle.
Even today, whenever anyone digs to a certain depth in Colchester or the City of London (the original Roman part of the city), a layer of red/pink ash is revealed, the evidence of the burning.
TWENTY ROMAN SKULLS UNEARTHED DURING LONDON CROSSRAIL PROJECT
The Crossrail project has already unearthed a number of exciting discoveries, including more than 10,000 artefacts at more than 40 construction sites.
In 2013, workers made an 'unexpected and fascinating discovery' in tunnels underneath Liverpool Street Station, where the historic River Walbrook flows.
The Crossrail team unearthed about 20 Roman skulls which were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary.
The Crossrail team unearthed Roman skulls in 2013, which had been buried in clusters at Bedlam
Working under the direction of archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls, as well as a collection of ancient Roman pottery.
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 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.
Prior to the discovery of the Roman skulls, workers also found about 4,000 skeletons buried in the Eldon Street area.
These skeletons were found in August 2013 and were carefully removed during major archaeological excavations last year
Read more: Have the remains of Boudicca's rebels been uncovered by London's Crossrail project? Excavations uncover ritual burial of human bones from 2,000 years ago* | Daily Mail Online
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