Archaeologists have discovered the perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be squeezed into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him.
The feet of the dead male, found in a quarry in Dorset, had to be bent backwards for his corpse to fit inside the sarcophagus which had been made one inch too short of his 5ft 10ins body.
It would have been a costly error by the coffin-maker as sarcophagi were very expensive and only made for wealthy people.
Archaeologists discover perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be 'bent double' to fit into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him
The 25-year-old male was found in a quarry near Dorchester, Dorset
He was buried in a small cemetery about 2,000 years ago
Evidence of 11 other burials at the same site was also discovered
Site said to have been a sprawling farmstead where up to 50 people lived
By Harvey Day For Mailonline
25 September 2016
Archaeologists have discovered the perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be squeezed into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him.
The feet of the dead male, found in a quarry in Dorset, had to be bent backwards for his corpse to fit inside the sarcophagus which had been made one inch too short of his 5ft 10ins body.
It would have been a costly error by the coffin-maker as sarcophagi were very expensive and only made for wealthy people.
Archaeologists have discovered the perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be squeezed into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him
Experts believe the male was aged about 25 at the time of his death and would have been in good health.
He was buried in a small cemetery about 2,000 years ago but his is the only skeleton to have survived because the bones were so well preserved by the stone coffin.
Evidence of 11 other burials at the same site was also discovered but there is little left of the remains.
The skeleton was discovered by archaeologists working at the site of a quarry near Dorchester, Dorset.
The skeleton was discovered by archaeologists working at the site of a quarry near Dorchester, Dorset
Dr Steve Ford, director of Thames Valley Archaelogy Service, said: 'We have found 12 graves but 11 of them have gone because the ground is too acidic but one was buried in a sarchopagus and the bones were very well preserved.
'He was a man aged about 25 in relatively good health up until his death.
'In the Roman period, burial in a sarcophagus was moderately common in Italy but very unusual in Britannia, where even wooden coffins seem to have been rare.
'A stone sarcophagus was certainly a very prestigious item and only for the wealthy. Their distribution across the country is restricted.
'But the man's feet were folded underneath his legs on account of the sarcophagus being too short for the body, so someone made a bit of an error when it came to taking the measurements.'
The site was said to have been a sprawling farmstead where between 30 to 50 people lived at one time. It had lots of paddocks and enclosures for animals.
It had been used as far back at the Bronze Age - about 4,000 years ago - but the skeleton dates to the Roman period.
Andrew Liddle, divisional director of Hills Quarry Products which is behind the quarry being dug, said: 'After the skeleton is analysed by experts it will be donated, along with all of the finds from the site, to Dorchester Museum with kind permission from the landowner.'
Andrew Liddle, divisional director of Hills Quarry Products which is behind the quarry being dug, said: 'After the skeleton is analysed by experts it will be donated, along with all of the finds from the site, to Dorchester Museum (pictured) with kind permission from the landowner
The feet of the dead male, found in a quarry in Dorset, had to be bent backwards for his corpse to fit inside the sarcophagus which had been made one inch too short of his 5ft 10ins body.
It would have been a costly error by the coffin-maker as sarcophagi were very expensive and only made for wealthy people.
Archaeologists discover perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be 'bent double' to fit into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him
The 25-year-old male was found in a quarry near Dorchester, Dorset
He was buried in a small cemetery about 2,000 years ago
Evidence of 11 other burials at the same site was also discovered
Site said to have been a sprawling farmstead where up to 50 people lived
By Harvey Day For Mailonline
25 September 2016
Archaeologists have discovered the perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be squeezed into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him.
The feet of the dead male, found in a quarry in Dorset, had to be bent backwards for his corpse to fit inside the sarcophagus which had been made one inch too short of his 5ft 10ins body.
It would have been a costly error by the coffin-maker as sarcophagi were very expensive and only made for wealthy people.
Archaeologists have discovered the perfectly preserved skeleton of a Roman man who had to be squeezed into a stone coffin after blundering undertakers made it too small for him
Experts believe the male was aged about 25 at the time of his death and would have been in good health.
He was buried in a small cemetery about 2,000 years ago but his is the only skeleton to have survived because the bones were so well preserved by the stone coffin.
Evidence of 11 other burials at the same site was also discovered but there is little left of the remains.
The skeleton was discovered by archaeologists working at the site of a quarry near Dorchester, Dorset.
The skeleton was discovered by archaeologists working at the site of a quarry near Dorchester, Dorset
Dr Steve Ford, director of Thames Valley Archaelogy Service, said: 'We have found 12 graves but 11 of them have gone because the ground is too acidic but one was buried in a sarchopagus and the bones were very well preserved.
'He was a man aged about 25 in relatively good health up until his death.
'In the Roman period, burial in a sarcophagus was moderately common in Italy but very unusual in Britannia, where even wooden coffins seem to have been rare.
'A stone sarcophagus was certainly a very prestigious item and only for the wealthy. Their distribution across the country is restricted.
'But the man's feet were folded underneath his legs on account of the sarcophagus being too short for the body, so someone made a bit of an error when it came to taking the measurements.'
The site was said to have been a sprawling farmstead where between 30 to 50 people lived at one time. It had lots of paddocks and enclosures for animals.
It had been used as far back at the Bronze Age - about 4,000 years ago - but the skeleton dates to the Roman period.
Andrew Liddle, divisional director of Hills Quarry Products which is behind the quarry being dug, said: 'After the skeleton is analysed by experts it will be donated, along with all of the finds from the site, to Dorchester Museum with kind permission from the landowner.'
Andrew Liddle, divisional director of Hills Quarry Products which is behind the quarry being dug, said: 'After the skeleton is analysed by experts it will be donated, along with all of the finds from the site, to Dorchester Museum (pictured) with kind permission from the landowner
