0:00:26 > 0:00:29Under a car park, on the edge of a city,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33an ancient burial ground has been discovered.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38A magnificent lead coffin is about to reveal its strange secrets.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50Those burials are in Winchester. I don't know how old they are.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53This Roman road may give me a clue.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56It's heading straight for them!
0:01:04 > 0:01:10'At the site, I met Paul McCulloch, the archaeologist in charge.'
0:01:10 > 0:01:14- How you doing? - I see you've started the machining.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Yes, we've had the machine going all morning so we're progressing.
0:01:19 > 0:01:26Developers plan to build flats on the site, which was part of a Roman cemetery.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31But before any foundations are laid, all human remains must be removed.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35- How long have you got to do it? - A month.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Is that long enough? There's going to be a lot of graves in there.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45I reckon 25 to 30 graves. We've got four or five people on the job.
0:01:45 > 0:01:52Weather permitting, and hoping there aren't too many problems, I'm sure we'll do it.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Since I'm here, Paul's invited me to help.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00I've been given a grave of my own to dig.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06The cemetery dates from the late 4th century, the end of the Roman period.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11The graves are aligned east-west, so they're probably Christian.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14But there's something odd going on.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19The graves are aligned, but there is no consistent burial pattern.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22This is the grave of a child who's been buried face down.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27That's the back of the skull and that's the jaw,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30and here the teeth,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32so we know the face is down.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36And here are the backbone and the arm bones,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39but that's the shoulder blade.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Here are the ribs underneath the shoulder blade,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45so that's the child's back.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Further along is the burial of a man,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53lying on his back, in a very shallow grave.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55This'll be a pain.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Here's a man whose head was cut off,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02and buried down by his knees.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Right. OK. That's number six.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10'As my grave got deeper, I wondered what I would find.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14'Iron nails - the evidence of a wooden coffin.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20'This was nothing compared to what emerged elsewhere on the site.'
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- < Oh, wow! - You've not!
0:03:23 > 0:03:26A lead coffin!
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Oh, you're joking!
0:03:28 > 0:03:31HE LAUGHS EXCITEDLY
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Oh!
0:03:39 > 0:03:45Just uncovering...what appears to be a lead coffin.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Just removing...
0:03:48 > 0:03:51some of the stained chalk from around the edges.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56- Does this mean you're working over the weekend?!- Guess so!
0:03:56 > 0:04:01This is a really great discovery, so I'm excited about it, yeah!
0:04:01 > 0:04:05In a very deep grave, Malcolm has found a lead coffin,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09the second to have been found in Roman Winchester.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14Lead was a valuable metal. It must have belonged to a wealthy Roman.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20- Did this make digging this hole worthwhile?!- Yeah, I think so.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24I think it's one of the few things that makes it worth it.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30- What if you'd got to the bottom... - And...nothing?! I'd have been sick!
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'But what condition will the coffin be in?
0:04:33 > 0:04:37'Has it been flattened by the chalk?'
0:04:37 > 0:04:39..get down to the shoulder blades.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47This was the worst possible time for the weather to turn against us.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52All the other graves had to be finished before we could dig
0:04:52 > 0:04:56the huge hole needed to get the lead coffin out.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57I'm knackered!
0:04:57 > 0:05:00It's the worst barrow run I've ever pushed a barrow up.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10As I removed the bones from my grave,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I wondered if we really were going to finish in time.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Unless we get completely covered in snow or rained off every single day,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20I'm sure we'll finish.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25But despite the weather, eventually we made it.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31All the empty graves had to be filled with gravel,
0:05:31 > 0:05:37and the site levelled before a JCB was brought in to expose the coffin.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41The machine's dug a huge hole to get down to the coffin.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44They stopped six inches short of it.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47The rest's got to be dug by hand.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49We're all dying to see it exposed.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53'It makes all this effort really worthwhile.'
0:05:58 > 0:06:02At this end there's a... there's a hole in it.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Which answers one question, which was whether or not it was sealed up.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Because if it had been completely sealed,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13then there could have been all sorts of unsavoury things inside it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Basically, bones floating around in a sort of soup.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21But we're not going to find anything as unpleasant as that, which is in some ways quite a relief.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28As the shape of the coffin lid began to emerge,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Malcolm made an important discovery.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32Just a small nail.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Rather small for a coffin nail, but it may be one.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41It means that the lead coffin was encased within a timber coffin.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45- So there was a timber outer shell. - There's another one here.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48From the fragments of wood corroded on the nail
0:06:48 > 0:06:53we hoped to identify the type of coffin.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57After two days of digging, the whole coffin could be seen.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01To our relief, it wasn't squashed flat.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Unlike the other burials, it lay north-south.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It was the burial of a pagan.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31The next day we had a peep through the coffin lid.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36And there, in the gloom, was the rounded shape of a skull.
0:07:39 > 0:07:46'This might look like a scene from Quatermass. In fact it's Health and Safety at work.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50'The white suits protect us from the lead dust on the coffin.'
0:07:50 > 0:07:53It feels strange, a bit restricted,
0:07:53 > 0:07:58but with that amount of lead down there, it's a good idea.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01So...down we go!
0:08:05 > 0:08:11The idea is to build a cradle around the coffin
0:08:11 > 0:08:12with scaffold tubes,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17support the underside with wooden wedges,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21and hopefully lift it all clear with a crane.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27After 1,600 years, it seems a shame to disturb the coffin.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31But it would have been destroyed by the new building.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45- Look at that scaffolding! - It's a work of art!
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The lorry had become an improvised hearse
0:08:49 > 0:08:55that took the coffin to the archaeologists' warehouse on the outskirts of Winchester.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58This is the moment of truth.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02We peeked through the lid so we know there are SOME bones.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07We still don't know if there's a whole skeleton. We'll find out!
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- OK. You ready?- ALL: Ready! I've got it! >
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Oh, bloody hell! >
0:09:16 > 0:09:19SOMEONE LAUGHS Flippin' heck! >
0:09:27 > 0:09:29PLASTIC RUSTLES
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- That's somebody pretty tall! - Yeah!- You were saying how far...
0:09:40 > 0:09:44the feet are away from the end of the coffin.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Actually, they almost reach it!
0:09:47 > 0:09:50We were amazed at what appeared when the lid was lifted.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54The skeleton of a well-built male,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57so tall he almost filled the coffin!
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- Shall we go for it?- Yeah.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03The skull couldn't have been in better condition.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07This was good for the facial reconstruction.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15As we started to lift the remainder of the bones,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19we noticed that some of them had rather strange attachments.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22This here, I'm not quite sure what it is.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27It's obviously within the, the rib cage.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Um, but you know it's just a question of taking
0:10:30 > 0:10:34a sample of this and trying to find out what it might be.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Strange, isn't it?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40It is occurring very much around the end of the ribs where you
0:10:40 > 0:10:42would expect an attachment, wouldn't you?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44- Yeah. - Some sort of ligament or something.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Moving down to the foot of the coffin,
0:10:50 > 0:10:56we found something not quite as gruesome, but just as interesting.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00I can't really believe it, but it looks like cloth.
0:11:00 > 0:11:06It may be part of a shroud of cloth, but you can see the weave in there.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10What puzzles me is what it's preserved in!
0:11:10 > 0:11:14And then, in the same place, yet more strange discoveries.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- That thing there?- Yeah. I don't know...
0:11:19 > 0:11:23- ..what that is.- It's very, very strange, isn't it?- It's...
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Actually, I wonder, it feels...
0:11:27 > 0:11:31It's not heavy enough to be lead, I don't think. What do you reckon?
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Is it?
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- No, it's not, is it? No, never seen anything like that before!- No.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44By the end of the day, when all the bones were removed and the coffin was being swept clean,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48we found it had just one more surprise for us.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53'Halfway down, where the Roman's hand had lain, was a coin -
0:11:53 > 0:11:57'a pagan's payment for the journey into the afterlife.'
0:11:57 > 0:12:04Take off the soil from the edges and hopefully we'll identify it.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06What a relief to get out of that suit,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10but how amazing the contents of the coffin have been!
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Not only are there things preserved which we hadn't expected
0:12:13 > 0:12:17but to cap it all, Paul found that coin.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Hopefully, it'll date the whole burial! It's brilliant!
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Several days later, we showed the remains
0:12:28 > 0:12:31to human bones specialist Margaret Cox.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36It's a robust male with all the characteristics of a male skeleton.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And apart from that, it's large.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- Yeah.- A wonderful set of teeth! SHE LAUGHS
0:12:43 > 0:12:48'Margaret felt the Roman was a man of about 30 when he died,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51'with no signs of disease or injury, apart from a damaged leg.'
0:12:54 > 0:12:58What appears to have happened here, Julian, is that you've had some trauma to the lower leg,
0:12:58 > 0:13:04and there was some damage...that caused a response in the soft tissue.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06What you see here is bony growth,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10coming away from the normal shape of the fibula
0:13:10 > 0:13:12going towards the tibia,
0:13:12 > 0:13:18which shows the same responses to what was clearly a trauma.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23The effect you get is that the bones end up joined...
0:13:23 > 0:13:24by new re-modelling.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Have a look at these vertebrae.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33What's...that?
0:13:33 > 0:13:38- Good God.- It's sort of round there.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41I've never seen anything like it before.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Oh, well I'm glad that you haven't, cos...
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- It's weird.- It...
0:13:47 > 0:13:52But is it any way that it could be some sort of soft tissue,
0:13:52 > 0:13:57that has, through some freak of preservation, survived?
0:13:57 > 0:14:00I just wonder, actually, if this isn't...
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Again, this is purely speculation, but if this was lying in gunk,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08and that's the tidemark of the gunk,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and if it's some sort of accretion that was on the top
0:14:14 > 0:14:17that was solidifying and solidified around the bones?
0:14:17 > 0:14:21We could perhaps do some chemical analysis. See if we can identify it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26Because I can't think of anything, in terms of soft tissue, that it could be.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30I was also curious to know what Margaret would make of those odd little cones.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34- Goodness, gracious. - Stalagmites.- Strange. Yeah.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39- They sat...they sat like that on the...- On the bottom of the coffin?
0:14:39 > 0:14:43We could almost see a build-up of layers, can't you?
0:14:43 > 0:14:46We could put that under the scanning electron microscope
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and see that sequence of build-up quite nicely.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53And see exactly what's going on. Absolutely fascinating, aren't they?
0:14:53 > 0:14:54Never seen anything like it.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00My next stop was the Winchester Conservation Laboratory.
0:15:00 > 0:15:06I hoped to hear some news about the cloth and the coin we'd found.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10It's not textile, it's an impression of textile.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16- On the screen...- It looks like a weave.- You can see the structure,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19and we can see impressions of fibres as well.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21What's preserved it, though?
0:15:21 > 0:15:26This is a chalky deposit, remember it was surrounded by chalk,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29so chalky water has dripped in,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33and this has built up a chalky, almost scale-like deposit
0:15:33 > 0:15:38on items in the coffin. And it seems...
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- Then the material's rotted away? - The material's rotted.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45It looks like this has fallen down on the shroud that was on the body.
0:15:45 > 0:15:51It's taken a fossil impression of the thread pattern of the shroud.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56Can you tell what sort of weave or material it was?
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Well, it's probably going to be linen or wool.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Now that, I presume...
0:16:04 > 0:16:07'The coin, which had cleaned up nicely, was next.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11'Paul was on hand to tell us when it was minted.'
0:16:11 > 0:16:15There's a male standing figure.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20You can see his legs there, moving up the torso area.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Arm coming out either side,
0:16:22 > 0:16:27possibly a drape over the arm hanging down below here.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Turning the coin over now,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34you can see it's worn and corroded.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37There's an area which is the head,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and we can see the remains of some lettering around the top here.
0:16:41 > 0:16:47You were relying on this to date the lead coffin. Has it?
0:16:47 > 0:16:49- Is it identifiable?- It's a...
0:16:49 > 0:16:54- It's a coin which we can understand. - Yeah.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59At the moment, it looks to be an issue of the Emperor Constantine,
0:16:59 > 0:17:04and perhaps from 313, 314...
0:17:07 > 0:17:11From Winchester, it was off to another Roman city, Manchester,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and to the studios of facial reconstruction expert Richard Neave.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19- It IS complete, isn't it?- Yes. - Isn't that nice?!
0:17:19 > 0:17:25- It makes a change! - It does rather, you bring us all sorts of busted bits!
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Now, out you come, young man!
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Now, that is a big, powerful skull, isn't it? My goodness!
0:17:35 > 0:17:38A big mastoid process.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Quite a prominent chin.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Not particularly full lips.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Not a very deep upper lip.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Quite a big nose...
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Why do you say, "Quite a big nose" and look at me?!
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Richard had hinted at how the Roman might look.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01It was up to medical artist Denise Smith to rebuild his face.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I'm not sure he's going to look typically Roman.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09He's going to have quite a wide nose,
0:18:09 > 0:18:10and...
0:18:11 > 0:18:14he may have a slightly heavier brow
0:18:14 > 0:18:16making his eyes look more deep set.
0:18:17 > 0:18:24But...er...he's going to have quite a strong, powerful face.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42Back in Winchester, I was curious to know more about the place our Roman was buried.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44'At the Historic Resource Centre,
0:18:44 > 0:18:50'Steve Teague has created a database which gave some clues.'
0:18:50 > 0:18:54This is what we now understand about the layout of the streets.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- Can we have a more detailed look at the town?- All right.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04- So where were we digging? Around here?- Yes, over here.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07So, it's just outside one of the town gates.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11- Outside the defences.- Yes. - Just outside the city.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16- How many burials have you excavated?- Excavated and observed,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20we're talking about around 1,000 burials!
0:19:20 > 0:19:24So, this is one big burial ground just outside the city
0:19:24 > 0:19:28and that's the area where we were digging?
0:19:28 > 0:19:32- Yes.- That had how many burials?- 35.
0:19:32 > 0:19:3535 just in that area!
0:19:35 > 0:19:38So those were the first trenches you dug,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41and this was the area we excavated?
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- So the lead coffin was in that area?- Yeah.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49'Most of the burials lay east-west, indicating they were Christian.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53'The lead coffin lay north-south, suggesting he was a pagan.
0:19:55 > 0:20:02'Now I know where he was buried, by the north gate, I wanted to know what the burial scene looked like.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07'Illustrator Mark Barden had some sketches ready for me.'
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Is this your first go at a reconstruction of the burial?
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Yes, first attempt.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16What's the idea,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18to show that it's just outside the walls of the town?
0:20:18 > 0:20:23Yes, and the depth of the burial in relation to the ground surface.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25It is deep, isn't it? I hadn't realised.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29I remember it was a huge hole in the ground, trying to get it out!
0:20:29 > 0:20:31It's a deep grave.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37We move on to the colour version.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41What's all this? This is elaborate!
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Yes, again some slight speculation gone into it.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50I think it would look strange if the wooden coffin box wasn't decorated.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53What do these mean?
0:20:53 > 0:20:57There's a lot of symbolism in Roman art.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Rosettes signify prosperity in the afterlife.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03We have a few more people, a few more mourners,
0:21:03 > 0:21:11as well as other elements such as the band in the background.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14- A fairly meagre band!- Did they have musicians at funerals?!- Yes.
0:21:14 > 0:21:21There are stone sarcophagi from Rome showing funeral processions with a band.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Mainly woodwind instruments,
0:21:23 > 0:21:28followed by hired mourners pulling their hair out and wailing.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34So how did Winchester fit into the wider Roman Empire?
0:21:34 > 0:21:37At the museum, there was an important clue.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43When our man in the coffin died, near the end of the Roman period,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46he was sent off with just a coin.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50This is a burial dating 300 years earlier.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52It's very different,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54because here the bones were cremated,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56not just placed in the ground.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00The person was sent off to the next life with an array of objects.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04There's a complete meal set out here in the grave.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08There's a shale tray with cutlery on it, pots...
0:22:08 > 0:22:10a beautiful glass beaker,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13a bronze jug that might have contained wine,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15there are beads, gaming counters,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17a joint of meat!
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The amazing thing is the different parts of the Roman Empire
0:22:20 > 0:22:23they came from. The pots are from France,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26the glass from Germany, the bronze from Italy
0:22:26 > 0:22:29and the beads may be Egyptian.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31This is Winchester, but it's connected
0:22:31 > 0:22:34with the whole wide Roman Empire!
0:22:39 > 0:22:43'Wood expert Rowena Gale had examined the wood on the nails.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47'Could she tell us the kind of timber used to make the coffin?'
0:22:47 > 0:22:52Well, I think this is a piece of oak wood.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54It's one of the easiest woods to identify.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58This has got very good characters.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03I'm looking at the cross-section. I can see the springwood vessels
0:23:03 > 0:23:07which occur at the beginning of every growth ring.
0:23:07 > 0:23:13I can also see broad rays and very thin rays, as well.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Very diagnostic of oak.
0:23:15 > 0:23:21To be certain, we've got to compare this with named reference material.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22You can see here...
0:23:22 > 0:23:30I've got about 100 different slides of different native species,
0:23:30 > 0:23:35or species that are native to Britain, so a piece of oak...
0:23:35 > 0:23:38If I show you this, I hope I'll convince you.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46- Now that matches very nicely! You've got the...- Oh, yes!- Can you see it?
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- All the little voids.- That's right. - I'm convinced!
0:23:50 > 0:23:53- SHE LAUGHS - I'm very impressed!
0:23:53 > 0:23:56So this person had an oak coffin, then!
0:23:58 > 0:24:02'If the lead coffin was encased in oak, how would it have looked?
0:24:02 > 0:24:06'In south London, I went to see Hughie Torrance.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09'He makes coffins in a way that's hardly changed since Roman times.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17'The sheet of soft lead is cut and folded into the shape of the coffin.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22'The rough form is placed in a wooden coffin
0:24:22 > 0:24:24'and beaten to take its precise shape.'
0:24:26 > 0:24:28BLOW TORCH HISSES
0:24:29 > 0:24:33'The joints are soldered, just like our Roman original.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40'Finally, a lid completes the modern version of our Roman's coffin.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'Oak and lead make the same statement about wealth as 1,600 years ago!'
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Meanwhile, at Bournemouth University, the bones
0:24:54 > 0:24:58and stalagmites from the coffin had been undergoing some intensive analysis.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Louise has been scanning the bones in her electron microscope.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09I'm just going to... ask the computer to...
0:25:10 > 0:25:12..tell me what we've got there.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14The computer's just going to analyse all these peaks,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and depending on their position along with energy line,
0:25:17 > 0:25:18it should tell us what they are.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22The computer showed very high levels of lead,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25which could only mean one thing.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27It's a lead carbonate.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31It is formed by water seepage through the chalky soil into the coffin.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- So it really is a lead stalagmite? - It is, yes.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39But what could she tell me about the stuff on the bones?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I can tell you what it isn't, rather than what it is.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43We analysed it using the same technique
0:25:43 > 0:25:46that we used for the lead stalagmite.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I can tell you that it is not soft tissue deposition,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51because there isn't enough carbon in the compound for it to be that.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56And it isn't a lead compound, because there is no lead in here at all.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00So we're not really any nearer to understanding exactly what
0:26:00 > 0:26:03this strange stuff that is stuck to the bone is, are we?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Unfortunately not, because we know very little
0:26:05 > 0:26:09about the decomposition processes that go on in lead coffins.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Back in Manchester, Denise was making rapid progress with the face.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17All he needed now was his hair.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Cos we know what period he's from,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24we need to look at what hairstyles they'd have in that period.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28They look different with hair.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Have you any idea what hair you'll put on him?
0:26:32 > 0:26:37I think shortish, straight hair actually, and clean-shaven.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40There is SOME evidence from Roman portraits,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43so at least for the first time, you can get some idea
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- as to what his hairstyle would have been like.- Yeah.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- Not like being in prehistory when...- It's anybody's guess!
0:26:50 > 0:26:52We guess at it, don't we?
0:26:53 > 0:26:57In Winchester, it was time to reveal the Roman's face
0:26:57 > 0:27:00to the archaeologists who'd found him.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Here we go! Here we are, Paul!
0:27:02 > 0:27:05- Wow!- Your Roman! - Thank you very much indeed!
0:27:07 > 0:27:13- Isn't he handsome?!- He looks like he's seen a bit of action,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17like a man from the army, really! Tough guy!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Yeah, he is tough.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22He looks more genuinely real somehow,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26you know, than faces on mosaics or wall paintings
0:27:26 > 0:27:27or something like that.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It's a genuine human face,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35with bumps and crevices and so on.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41This was someone who really knew Roman Winchester.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44He knew its streets, temples, baths and statues.
0:27:44 > 0:27:45When he died,
0:27:45 > 0:27:50he was buried outside its walls, as that was what Roman custom dictated.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We know his coffin was the finest available.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59The buried fragments that survived over 1,600 years tell us that much.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03We can only imagine his burial,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05the false sorrow of the paid orator
0:28:05 > 0:28:07mingling with the genuine grief
0:28:07 > 0:28:10of those who had lost a relative or a friend.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16But unlike many people at this time, he hadn't adopted Christianity.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Because in his right hand was this!
0:28:18 > 0:28:20A single coin.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24The fare to pay the ferryman to take his soul across the River Styx,
0:28:24 > 0:28:25and into the next world.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd