By Isobel Curwen, Heritage Research Supervisor (and osteologist on the side)
Warning: images of human remains feature in this post
Last month, we were invited by the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) to take part in their ‘Hands on History’ event as part of National Tourism Week. This event saw many attractions within Lincoln (and the UK) open their doors for free!
So on a sunny Saturday morning at the beginning of April I find myself arriving at the IBCC carrying a box containing the remains of a decapitated Roman individual (SK 1026). Luckily I didn’t get too many strange looks…
Wondering why? During 2014 – 2016 Allen Archaeology were involved in the excavation work prior to the IBCC and the memorial Spire being built. Early geophysical investigations had identified several anomalies within the area which were then investigated by a series of excavations in the location of the IBCC building and spire, the car park and the access road off Canwick Hill (Evershed, 2014).
During the course of the archaeological works on the site, the excavations revealed the remains of three Roman pottery kilns, two corn dryers, and 15 Roman burials, dated to the 2nd to 3rd centuries. Several possible quarry pits and linear ditches were also found. The final report is forthcoming, and will be published in due course, but preliminary analysis of the results of the archaeological investigations suggest that the site was formerly a self-sufficient Roman settlement complete with corn dryers and ditches marking the boundaries of the settlement. It is thought that the quarry pits were used to mine for limestone, a readily accessible resource which was used to build many parts of Roman Lincoln. The geographical location of the site, on high ground within close proximity to the city was also an important factor.
Interestingly, the graves were found on a variety of alignments and one individual was found with the head and some of the cervical vertebrae between the legs (suggesting they were decapitated), and another individual was found buried prone (face down). Burials of this type are occasionally found in Roman cemeteries and are referred to as ‘deviant’ burials.
So, bearing all this in mind, the event at the IBCC was Roman themed and I took along the individual that had been decapitated as well as plans and photographs of the site during the excavation. I laid out the individual in the way they were found in the grave and got many questions as to why I had put the head by the feet! I secretly enjoyed the look on people’s faces when I told them why…
It was a busy day and we had around 90 people visit. Personally, it was a great experience to be able to explain to people that the IBCC, now a focus for Bomber Command during WWII, was once a Roman settlement. Even more exciting was to be able to be showing an individual that was found beneath the building we were actually standing in!
Many thanks to Cova, Yvonne, Harvey and Chris for their help in the preparation of this exhibition and on the day itself too! Thanks also go to Emily from the IBCC for organising the event and for asking us to be involved.
Evershed, R., 2014, Archaeological Evaluation Report – Geophysical survey by magnetrometry for the proposed Bomber Command Memorial and Interpretation Centre, Canwick Hill, Canwick, Lincolnshire, Allen Archaeology Ltd