0:00:02 > 0:00:05At Dundee's Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification,
0:00:05 > 0:00:10the History Cold Case team prepares for an astonishing new case.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15The archaeologists have asked us to come in and assist on some of the cases.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20"It's the one that nobody else solved. Can you make a difference?"
0:00:20 > 0:00:27The investigation will be led by world-renowned forensic anthropologist Prof Sue Black,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30while Dr Xanthe Mallett scours the UK for historical evidence
0:00:30 > 0:00:35and Prof Caroline Wilkinson rebuilds the faces of the dead.
0:00:35 > 0:00:42- I've got a team of world-renowned reputation.- This case will take the team back nearly 2,000 years
0:00:42 > 0:00:46to a time of invasion and great upheaval in Britain.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51Today's case which is Roman Baldock. Oh, my goodness me.
0:00:51 > 0:00:58- A female found buried with three babies.- This is an unprecedented archaeological find.
0:00:58 > 0:01:05The remains of a woman and three babies, discovered in a sinister position within a single grave.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10- It doesn't look so much disrespectful as careless.- Rushed.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16By forensically reconstructing the fate of this woman,
0:01:16 > 0:01:21can we gain crucial new information about why she died?
0:01:21 > 0:01:25And how will her story change our views of the past?
0:01:25 > 0:01:30It's difficult. It's very easy to kill a baby and leave no marks.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33A time of brutal medicine.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37- It looks vicious. - That's for perforating a skull.
0:01:37 > 0:01:43- And rife superstition. - If you were getting ghosts, take the head off and there's no trouble.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48When survival was far from guaranteed.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52As a result, all of them, all four of them have died.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56This is the kind of story that will resonate with any parent.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59That's basically infanticide.
0:02:21 > 0:02:27The History Cold Case team has come to Baldock, a Hertfordshire commuter town with a hidden past.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32They set up their mobile forensic lab on Clothall Common,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36where people have lived for over 5,000 years.
0:02:43 > 0:02:51Iron Age remains have been uncovered around here, which suggest Baldock may be the earliest town
0:02:51 > 0:02:53ever to develop in Britain.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Members of the local archaeological community
0:02:57 > 0:03:02are laying out a selection of skeletons found here in 1989.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09This investigation will focus on the troubling remains from one grave -
0:03:09 > 0:03:15a female buried with three tiny babies in what looks like suspicious circumstances.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Who were they?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22And how did they all end up dead in the same grave?
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Dr Xanthe Mallett is on site first.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32She meets archaeologist Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37who supervised excavations of the area and called in the History Cold Case team.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42There's a late Roman cemetery under the tents, a temple over there,
0:03:42 > 0:03:47more burials over there. So we're really in a necropolis, almost.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55The dating of the burials to the Romano-British period is based on artefacts found in the graves.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01One of the graves had this rather nice little 1st century AD jar.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Because it's a fairly early style, we can be certain
0:04:05 > 0:04:10that most of the graves were of the Roman period. That's very early on.
0:04:12 > 0:04:19Keith takes Xanthe to the nearby housing estate where the female and babies were unearthed.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Now this looks very suburban, but I guess it didn't back then.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Absolutely not. When we were excavating, this was open land.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It had been farmland for centuries.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42This is an aerial photograph taken when it was still being farmed.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47The site of the burial is just there, which puts it underneath those garages.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- So we're really close.- Very close.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55The archaeologists thought they were excavating the body of a man.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Then the dig took an unusual turn.
0:04:57 > 0:05:04- Once we'd excavated his grave, it became apparent there was another grave underneath.- Oh?
0:05:04 > 0:05:10And beneath his head and shoulders were the head and shoulders of the woman.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- Right.- Lying at right angles to him.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19That's where it got really interesting. Once we were uncovering her head and upper chest,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21the first baby turned up.
0:05:25 > 0:05:31As the dig continued, it became clear there was a second, then a third set of infant remains
0:05:31 > 0:05:33in the grave with the woman.
0:05:33 > 0:05:39Finding three babies together in a grave this old was an unprecedented discovery.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47Professor Sue Black flies in from Dundee HQ to see the remains for herself.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51They're hoping the bones will provide answers
0:05:51 > 0:05:57as to whether this is a 2,000-year-old natural tragedy or, in fact, something more sinister.
0:05:58 > 0:06:05Sue immediately notices that the skeletons appear to be remarkably intact, which is promising.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09They're in very good condition.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16They begin their analysis on the first of the two boxes containing the remains of the woman.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18- Oh.- OK.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23- Who knows what we'll find? - It's like opening Christmas parcels.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Yes, it's definitely a lady. That's very feminine. My goodness.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33- Gradually, they start to build her physical profile. - It's a very short tibia.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37That's very short.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42- We have to see how tall she would have been.- So... that's coming in at 31.
0:06:42 > 0:06:49So 31. Just short of five foot, so it's coming to sort of 4 foot 11 sort of range.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50So very short.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52S1 and S2.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58So we're over the twenties barrier. We're probably up into the thirties barrier. Yeah.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03Teeny weeny legs! Apart from that, no pathologies or traumas.
0:07:03 > 0:07:09- Very feminine pelvis, though. - So we're happy female, happy adult. - Yeah.- Young adult.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14A woman only 4 foot 11 tall,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18in her mid to late thirties, with no obvious cause of death.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27Then there are the extraordinary remains of the first baby.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- Oh, my...!- Oh, wow.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33Aww.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Yeah, in severe fragments.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38That is...
0:07:38 > 0:07:40- a tibia.- Mm-hm.- It is.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45- I'll take your word for it. - Thank you. That is a...
0:07:47 > 0:07:51It looks like the humerus. It's very difficult to tell.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55These are vertebrae. Aren't those beautiful?
0:07:55 > 0:08:01- It's like that game of jacks you used to play. That's what they look like.- Very cute, aren't they?
0:08:06 > 0:08:11Reading bones this small and this old is incredibly difficult.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15And there is a second tiny skeleton.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20What's this, 7683? Oh, there's a lot less of this, by the looks of it.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32And then the third, recovered from the same grave.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37Oh, now this one is much better preservation. Look at that.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41- Relatively good condition. - That's pretty good, actually.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- I have to say they're fantastic. - It's amazing, isn't it?
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Although Sue is a world authority on juvenile anthropology,
0:08:52 > 0:08:57she has never faced a challenge like this before.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02You can't tell if they're boys or girls. They're not pink or blue.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07Forensically, the things that we look for are any injuries, any trauma,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11anything that may show that the child has been despatched.
0:09:11 > 0:09:17- But it's very easy to kill a baby and leave no marks.- It's quite an interesting one, isn't it?
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Who was this woman? Are these her babies?
0:09:24 > 0:09:31And if so, why would a mother and all three babies end up dead and buried together?
0:09:32 > 0:09:39The team will need to gather every bit of forensic evidence they can muster to prove what happened here.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Scientific testing gets immediately underway in the mobile lab.
0:09:52 > 0:09:59A sample taken from the thigh bone of the woman will be used for carbon dating
0:09:59 > 0:10:03to confirm whether these bones are indeed from the early Roman era.
0:10:03 > 0:10:10The same sample will also provide a chemical profile that can reveal where the woman is from
0:10:10 > 0:10:14as well as crucial information about her diet.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24And adult and baby bones are also sent for DNA testing.
0:10:27 > 0:10:34The only way we're ever going to really know whether they are related is if we can extract any DNA.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38They're in a good condition, but not a perfect condition.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42We have to be realistic that we might not get DNA samples from them.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48But if we do, confirming that the DNA of all three babies matches would be fantastic.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53Matching it to what we think is a female skeleton is even better.
0:10:54 > 0:11:01Alongside rebuilding the woman's face, this battery of tests will help create a profile of her in life
0:11:01 > 0:11:06that will be crucial in cracking this mysterious case.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11There are so many questions to be answered in this case. Who was she?
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Why was she buried in that way?
0:11:21 > 0:11:26In the meantime, Xanthe's task is to initiate the historic investigation.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33If our woman lived and died in Baldock nearly 2,000 years ago,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36what kind of town could it have been?
0:11:37 > 0:11:42She meets up with Dr Jeremy Taylor, an expert on Romano-British history.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49So we're looking at 1st century Baldock. What would it have been like?
0:11:49 > 0:11:53- A bit of a Wild West town. - Really?- At that point, yeah.
0:11:53 > 0:12:01Until it settled down and local government was organised, the rules were changing very rapidly
0:12:01 > 0:12:05and civil government was being re-established after the conquest.
0:12:05 > 0:12:11So thinking as if we can see Roman Baldock in front of us, what kind of people are using it?
0:12:11 > 0:12:16They're a magnet for people from all walks of life, coming as traders,
0:12:16 > 0:12:22artisans, craftsmen, following in the wake of the Roman army and administration,
0:12:22 > 0:12:28- hoping to make a living.- So she could have been from anywhere, doing anything.- Pretty much, yeah.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32It's not what Xanthe wanted to hear.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37Our woman could have been a local Celt, but she could also have been a Roman
0:12:37 > 0:12:41from literally anywhere across the Empire.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45The isotope results will hopefully help to pin this down.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51None of Baldock's Roman buildings remain,
0:12:51 > 0:12:58but below the surface of this football pitch are the foundations of a huge temple in the town centre.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06- Oh, excellent. Look at that. - On excavations of temple sites
0:13:06 > 0:13:12- we find chickens being sacrificed, but also sheep, sometimes pig. - Quite large mammals.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15It can be. Sheep and goats are sacrificed.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20This is the centre of religious life here. People come from the local area
0:13:20 > 0:13:25but also people travelling on the Roman roads also stop here.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31There's a good chance, then, that the woman would have visited this site.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- It's very likely she would have come here at some point.- That's exciting.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Baldock in the 1st century was clearly a volatile place,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45rife with religious superstition and clashing cultures.
0:13:54 > 0:14:00Could the new Roman cult religions that increasingly dominated this area after the conquest in 43AD
0:14:00 > 0:14:05have played a role in how our woman and the infants lived and died?
0:14:06 > 0:14:12First, the team needs to find out whether she even lived during this period.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25Back at Dundee HQ, Xanthe joins Sue and Professor Caroline Wilkinson
0:14:25 > 0:14:30to hear the results of the carbon dating tests.
0:14:30 > 0:14:36- Previously, the only thing dating it was the grave goods.- They didn't do carbon dating before?- No.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40The carbon dating covers a span from 6AD
0:14:40 > 0:14:43to as late as 215AD.
0:14:43 > 0:14:50So that's right bang in the middle of when the Romans were officially in Britain and coming to it.
0:14:50 > 0:14:56There's a lot of moving about at this time so she could have come from anywhere.
0:14:56 > 0:15:03- We don't have the isotopes yet?- Not yet. That'll be quite interesting. And we don't have the DNA yet either.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09That's the first hard scientific evidence and it agrees with what we'd been expecting.
0:15:09 > 0:15:15- We like it when things agree. Not everybody does, but we like it. Makes me feel comfortable.- Yes.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22These results place our woman and the babies firmly within a timeframe
0:15:22 > 0:15:26when Baldock was under heavy Roman influence.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32By 215AD, the Romans had brought their entire culture to Britain -
0:15:32 > 0:15:38legal and political systems, architecture, a vast network of military highways,
0:15:38 > 0:15:43as well as their social attitudes and superstitions.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49When the woman's grave was first excavated in 1989, it was singled out as different from other burials,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53but was this only because of the presence of the babies?
0:15:53 > 0:15:58I've got a visual I can show you from the information we received from the archaeologist,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02which will really help actually. One of these lovely CGI moments.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07- So this is looking at the graveyard. - And are these roads?- Yes.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13- Where's the rest of the cemetery? - The rest is part way down here, across the road on the other side.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- What we're looking at there is the male overlaying.- The male.- Yeah.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And then we'll go down a layer.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25So you can see the baby at the shoulder,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28the second and the third.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33It does make you think about things at a slightly different angle.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36With Mum being laid on her side,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40is that telling us something about how she's viewed?
0:16:40 > 0:16:46If you look at the male, he's on his back, in what you'd expect, lying.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52She is placed differently. I don't know how important actual physical positioning was at the time,
0:16:52 > 0:16:57whether that means quite a lot that she's placed like that.
0:16:57 > 0:17:03There is something odd about the position of the woman's skeleton that makes the team uncomfortable.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18Xanthe returns to Baldock to discuss the burial site in more detail with archaeologist Keith.
0:17:21 > 0:17:27- We're going to have a look at some of the images from the grave.- Yes. - I'm quite looking forward to these.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31- So there she is.- Right. - Laid out in the grave.
0:17:34 > 0:17:40This looks unusual to me by the fact that I would expect her just to be lying on her back.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44It is relatively unusual, both in terms of where it is in the cemetery
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- and in terms of the way the body was laid out in the grave.- OK.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53- Where it was in the cemetery?- We're on the edge, almost on her own.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59Not quite, but it's very much a peripheral position in the cemetery.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04She's also been laid on her right side. There aren't any in precisely this position.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06This is a one-off.
0:18:06 > 0:18:14- Is there a descriptor for this? - Because of her unusual position, we would tend, as archaeologists,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16to describe this as a deviant burial.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Not meaning that there's anything deviant about her as a person,
0:18:20 > 0:18:25but that as a burial it falls outside the statistical norms.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27- So literally unusual.- Unusual.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32And socially, perhaps, a bit...
0:18:33 > 0:18:35..unacceptable.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42Why was she not given a normal burial? Was she herself judged to be deviant?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44And, if so, why?
0:18:44 > 0:18:50- I don't know if you can make out up there the baby by the right shoulder. - I can just see it in there.
0:18:50 > 0:18:57In a deeply superstitious society, could she have been somehow deemed responsible for the babies' death,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01- which might explain why they were all buried together?- Sad.- Very sad.
0:19:10 > 0:19:17A key part of the woman's physical profile will be provided by Caroline's physical reconstruction.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Quite a strong brow for a woman.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27And the good news is we've got some nasal bones,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29which means...
0:19:30 > 0:19:34..that we can predict how much her nose projects.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39There we go. So that fits there between the orbits.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46Caroline always begins with a close examination of the skull parts,
0:19:46 > 0:19:52especially complex in this case given how old and fragmentary the bones are.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57It's quite useful to be able to slot some of the pieces together before we scan them.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02When you do it by hand, you can feel how they slot together.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The mandible is quite...square.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Square chin, square jaw.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11So quite a masculine-looking woman.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Not typically female.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18She captures the fractured pieces using a 3D laser scanner,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22as the skull will be reassembled in the computer.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29It will take several weeks to bring the face of this woman back into view,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33but will it turn out to be the face of a social outcast?
0:20:37 > 0:20:45The suggestion is that this woman is dealt with almost as if she's a deviant in some way.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Is that supporting the suggestion that perhaps they're outsiders?
0:20:50 > 0:20:55The whole thing just smacks of a bit of disrespect.
0:20:55 > 0:21:01And in today's society I don't quite understand why that should be.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12To find out more about whether our woman was considered different,
0:21:12 > 0:21:19Xanthe travels to London to meet Alison Taylor, an authority on deviant burial in Roman Britain.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- Hi.- Hi.
0:21:23 > 0:21:29Can you tell me a little bit about deviant burials and what that means? I'm presuming she's Roman.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35Right, yeah. Looking at what we call the deviant burial, it might've been someone they were worried about.
0:21:35 > 0:21:42- Worried about?- Somebody who they may think the spirit would have walked, somebody who was outside the normal
0:21:42 > 0:21:48- for some reason.- Something suspicious.- Somebody whose ghost you might fear for some reason,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52maybe just because that person was very unfortunate.
0:21:52 > 0:21:58And Alison knows of some bizarre attempts to stop people coming back from the dead.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04- This one looks a bit odd. - Yeah. This one has her legs resting on a horse's head.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10- I wondered what that was! There you go - her legs were actually placed on top.- On top.
0:22:10 > 0:22:17But Alison believes deviant burials from Romano-British times took two main forms.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The first - decapitation.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Quite a number of people did lose their head.
0:22:24 > 0:22:30It seems to have been done usually straight after death. There are cut marks on the neck.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35And we do know from later accounts of this sort of burial
0:22:35 > 0:22:40that if somebody was giving trouble, if you were getting ghosts,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44if you take the head off, you know that person won't cause you trouble.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49And the second main type was known as a prone burial.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53There's a long tradition of that being seen as very disapproving.
0:22:53 > 0:23:00You get that in lots of different cultures, lots of periods of history, right through the Middle Ages,
0:23:00 > 0:23:06for certain people. It seems that what they really don't want is this person getting out of the grave
0:23:06 > 0:23:10to go and cause trouble haunting. So if you're buried face down,
0:23:10 > 0:23:15if you do come back to life and want to get out, you'll go deeper down.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18This would seem to match our woman.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21What does Alison make of her burial position?
0:23:21 > 0:23:24She's obviously highly unusual,
0:23:24 > 0:23:30- but I would say this would not classify as a deviant burial.- Really?
0:23:30 > 0:23:36- In any of the normal classifications. - She's kind of leaning forward, but you don't think that's deviant?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40- It's not face down.- No. - She's buried on her side.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43And her legs are slightly bent.
0:23:43 > 0:23:49I think she is simply buried in what is almost a comfortable sleeping position.
0:23:49 > 0:23:55Surprisingly, Alison actually thinks this is the normal burial of a heavily pregnant woman.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01She is just laid in the ground in the most comfortable position.
0:24:01 > 0:24:07You couldn't have buried her face down if she was heavily pregnant. It doesn't bear thinking about.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13It was probably the most practical, easy and traditional way of treating her.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Alison believes our woman was probably not an outcast.
0:24:17 > 0:24:24She was buried on her side, with all the respect afforded a pregnant woman.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29But this is the first historical evidence that a pregnancy may have been involved
0:24:29 > 0:24:34and none of the babies appeared to be inside the woman.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37So was she pregnant or not?
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Back in Dundee, Sue looks for clarification from the bones.
0:24:51 > 0:24:58One of the questions often asked is, "Are there indicators on a skeleton of a woman who's been pregnant?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02"Is there anything left behind?" Most of the changes are soft tissue.
0:25:02 > 0:25:08We used to say that if you can see that groove there, in one area of the pelvis,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12at the back of the pelvis, that's an indication they were pregnant.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18We've completely thrown that out the window, but it would make an awfully nice story
0:25:18 > 0:25:24if we could say just because that's there, we know she was pregnant. That's not the case.
0:25:24 > 0:25:31It would be awfully nice if we had something on here that said, "This was her 24th pregnancy."
0:25:31 > 0:25:33There's nothing.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36The mother gives no clue,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38but what of the babies themselves?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Maximum length.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48When you have multiple pregnancies, often the babies are smaller.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52That's 40 weeks. It's a new-born baby.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59These three babies are aged around the time they would have been born,
0:25:59 > 0:26:04making it highly likely this is a mother and her three babies.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Astonishingly, as they're also all of a similar size,
0:26:09 > 0:26:14it's probable they were from the same pregnancy, making them triplets.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Only the DNA results will be able to prove this beyond doubt,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23but it brings the bones alive for Sue.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Those are three full-term babies.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31These have gone to their full duration. Maybe not quite 40 weeks, but close.
0:26:31 > 0:26:38If you imagine the connotations that has for her, being a little woman, not of a very young age,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40carrying three full-term babies.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46The implications for her and for the people around her, that's a huge story.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54It's a crucial turn in the investigation.
0:26:54 > 0:27:00This could be the oldest archaeological evidence of triplets ever discovered.
0:27:00 > 0:27:06To find out more, the team must now shift its focus and view this as a multiple pregnancy.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Only one in 80 pregnancies is with twins
0:27:13 > 0:27:17and only one in 8,000 is with triplets.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23In Ancient Rome, successful multiple births surviving to adulthood
0:27:23 > 0:27:27were generally seen as a good omen and became part of mythology,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31like the twins, Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37And there was even a heroic set of legendary triplets, the Horatii,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39known as the Champions of Rome.
0:27:44 > 0:27:50But what were the chances of our mother giving birth successfully to triplets in Roman Britain
0:27:50 > 0:27:53nearly 2,000 years ago?
0:27:54 > 0:27:59How were women treated in difficult childbirths in that time?
0:27:59 > 0:28:05How did they deal with that? What was the mechanism? What medical help was there?
0:28:05 > 0:28:10Was there anything or was she just on her own?
0:28:16 > 0:28:23Xanthe travels to the British Museum in London to meet curator Ralph Jackson,
0:28:23 > 0:28:30- an expert in Ancient Roman medicine. - What level of understanding did they have of the anatomy?
0:28:30 > 0:28:34Well, quite good in the kind of harder parts,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38but not too good deep inside in the profound and softer parts.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43- So more superficial anatomy. - Bones and superficial anatomy,
0:28:43 > 0:28:47simply because there was no dissection of human cadavers.
0:28:47 > 0:28:53This was not routinely done. So internal anatomy was patchily understood.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58Ralph has a wide array of surgical tools used during Roman times.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03It seems like quite a range. This is what I would expect to see in a field kit now,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05an emergency field kit.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07This is one of the amazing things.
0:29:07 > 0:29:13When you look back and forward again, you find that the instrumentation hasn't changed hugely.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17- In the basic kit, you have knives... - Very similar to scalpels today.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20With a huge range of different types of blade.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22There were a range of probes
0:29:22 > 0:29:28and then sharp hooks used for retracting the edges of wounds and incisions.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31They are precision-made tools, beautifully finished.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36Some instruments would even combine the practical with the divine.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Over here, a folding handle for a drill
0:29:40 > 0:29:44includes the sort of mortal side if you like. It's a precision tool,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48but at the end there is a bit of decoration - a snake head.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Why would you find a snake head on the end of a drill?
0:29:51 > 0:29:55It's because the snake was the creature of Asclepius.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Asclepius was the great, overarching, healing god.
0:29:58 > 0:30:04If you put his creature on the end of your tool, the operator and the patient feel reassured.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09- This is a real combination? - It is a real combination of divine and mortal healing.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14Is this a medic's toolkit or is this a midwife's toolkit and was there any difference?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17There was a difference. It is a medical kit,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21a basic kit of surgical tools used for all routine surgery.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24The midwife could have had instrumentation
0:30:24 > 0:30:30because although midwives by definition tended to look after women expecting babies,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34they also were expected to have knowledge
0:30:34 > 0:30:38of other aspects of medicine and that included surgery.
0:30:39 > 0:30:46Our pregnant woman in Roman Baldock could have had surprisingly advanced medical care available to her.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51We had people who came to Britain with written texts that talked about medicine
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and some of those were connected to childbirth,
0:30:54 > 0:31:00so we can't deny the possibility of knowledge of classical medicine, the text, techniques, in Roman Britain,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03not just in Roman Britain, but in Roman Baldock.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Yet something went terribly wrong.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10All three babies, along with their mother, were in the grave together.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Why?
0:31:15 > 0:31:21In Dundee, Caroline has now reassembled the skull of our four foot eleven woman.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28You can see here she's got quite a prominent lump above her eyes,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30quite a strong brow for a woman.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35We've also got quite prominent bone surfaces here.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41It suggests she didn't have small, delicate ears. She may have had quite large, prominent ears.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44She might have an interesting face.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48I wouldn't go as far as to say she's going to be unattractive.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50I think that might be a bit harsh.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54With the skull reassembled, only the green areas are missing
0:31:54 > 0:31:59which can be estimated by mirroring the opposite side.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03So what effect would pregnancy have on the woman's face?
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Well, often when women are pregnant, they become fuller of face
0:32:08 > 0:32:12and usually later in the pregnancy it's more noticeable.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18But that's based on contemporary pregnant faces
0:32:18 > 0:32:24and obviously we're well fed and pampered in relation to people from this period of time,
0:32:24 > 0:32:29so I don't know how much of an effect her pregnancy would have had on her face.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34If the isotope results come back that she was well nourished, it raises the question
0:32:34 > 0:32:40of why a healthy, pregnant woman would end up dead, along with all three babies.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47The team now hunts for clues in the babies' burial positions.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50The larger baby that was...
0:32:50 > 0:32:54When excavated, one baby was found underneath the woman,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57one between her legs and one near her shoulder.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00It doesn't look so much disrespectful as careless to me.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03- Rushed, careless.- I don't know.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07I just don't like that. I don't like a baby up on her shoulder
0:33:07 > 0:33:13- because you wouldn't bury somebody with a baby there.- No.- You just wouldn't. It's an odd placement.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19One of the babies was found at her shoulder and I don't quite understand why you would do that.
0:33:19 > 0:33:25You would think if you were burying a mother with her baby, it might be across her chest or in her arms.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28There's almost an element of discarding.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Is there a cause of death that could explain
0:33:34 > 0:33:39why all three babies ended up dead and appear to be almost discarded?
0:33:45 > 0:33:53Xanthe goes to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London to meet Dr Helen King,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57an expert in Roman birthing and childcare.
0:33:57 > 0:34:04- Helen...- Hello.- Helen offers a shocking possibility for what may have happened to the babies.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07In Roman terms, there was a ceremony after birth
0:34:07 > 0:34:11where the father of the child had to pick the child up from the ground.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16If he did that, it indicated the child was "worth the rearing", is how they put it.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21- The father decided how the baby was treated?- Yes, and whether it's exposed or not.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25This kind of idea of exposing a child, what's that?
0:34:25 > 0:34:31Well, exposure means that you leave the child to die after it's been born.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36Although it sounds pretty weird to us, in Greek and Roman terms, that's just a very late abortion.
0:34:36 > 0:34:41- That's basically infanticide if you abandon a child.- In our terms, yes.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46As far as they're concerned, you've found out the gender of the child, whether it's healthy.
0:34:46 > 0:34:52- So, physical disability?- That's right, but also interestingly, how the pregnancy went.
0:34:52 > 0:34:58If the pregnancy was a healthy one, then that's more likely that the child's worth rearing.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06It's possible one or even more of the babies could have been the victims of infanticide -
0:35:06 > 0:35:10their bodies just dumped in the grave.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14But Helen knows of certain Roman birthing techniques
0:35:14 > 0:35:19that could also have been responsible for the babies' deaths.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24- Do you know what that is? - Well, my imagination is telling me nothing good.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28- It looks pretty vicious. - That is for perforating the skull.
0:35:28 > 0:35:35- To kill the baby?- It would kill the baby, but it would also release the material inside the skull.
0:35:35 > 0:35:41- You're trying to reduce the contents of the skull.- You'd kind of pierce the skull through the soft part,
0:35:41 > 0:35:48- kind of mash the brain around to break it down, so the baby would pass out more easily?- Yes.
0:35:48 > 0:35:54- So where the head's got stuck, it was just a very large head...- This is what you would do?- Absolutely.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59- There's no chance of a baby surviving with that one? - No, but the mother might survive.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02- If you left the baby there... - The mother will die.- Yes.
0:36:02 > 0:36:08- Then there were these. You know what that is?- This would go in through the soft area on top of the head
0:36:08 > 0:36:11- and basically hook the baby out. - That's pretty well it.
0:36:11 > 0:36:18- Or you could do it through the eye cavity.- Any orifice?- Anything you can grab, really, to pull.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20That's pretty nasty, isn't it?
0:36:20 > 0:36:26Well, it is, but if the alternative is the woman is going to die, then this could be a life-saver.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31This baby here... This is actually where the head's been left behind.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36- Oh, nice(!)- You're grabbing into the mouth and exerting traction from there.
0:36:36 > 0:36:42- It's gone wrong at this stage. - Terribly wrong.- They're extracting what's left of the baby.- Exactly.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46- It's a great image though.- We know that the Romans had access to texts
0:36:46 > 0:36:51which talked about using hooks to extract babies that are in a difficult position,
0:36:51 > 0:36:56so if she does come from a Roman background or has access to Roman help,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00she could have had that instrumental interference in her delivery.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Are there any signs of intervention in our case
0:37:03 > 0:37:08that would indicate midwives had to deal with a difficult birth?
0:37:12 > 0:37:17In Dundee, the bones of the three babies and the woman are put through a CT scanner.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23This will look outside and inside the bones
0:37:23 > 0:37:28to reveal damage that can't be detected just with physical examination.
0:37:32 > 0:37:37Sue then analyses the results with her colleague Roos.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39First, they look at the female's scans.
0:37:41 > 0:37:47The pelvis is like a basin that's wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51What we haven't got intact is the bottom end. There isn't enough.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53So she's not going to tell us.
0:37:53 > 0:37:59The female's bones are strong and healthy, but show no signs of intervention.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04What of the babies?
0:38:04 > 0:38:07The trouble is there's no skull there.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11- There's really nothing. It's tantalising.- It's difficult to tell.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15There's nothing that suggests there's anything going on there.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20We can't tell from this that she's had any obstetric assistance of any kind.
0:38:21 > 0:38:28Again there are no marks on the bones to indicate use of Roman instruments or medical assistance.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35There's no evidence on the remains of the babies
0:38:35 > 0:38:42of trauma of any kind that might be associated with somebody trying to assist the birthing process.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46So Mum's not helping us with the birthing process
0:38:46 > 0:38:49and the babies aren't helping us with it.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52It's a frustrating situation.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03But can the woman's remains help to shed light on this in another way?
0:39:03 > 0:39:09Chemical traces in her bones could reveal whether she was Roman or Celtic,
0:39:09 > 0:39:15which may in turn suggest what type of midwifery she would have had access to.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19The results of the stable isotope analysis are now back.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24We don't know the genetic relationship yet. We're postulating the babies are hers,
0:39:24 > 0:39:30but I do have the isotopic results, so it's going to tell us about their diet, their provenance.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35This is really all hinging on are they Roman or are they local or what?
0:39:35 > 0:39:39That's going to have a massive impact on the whole case.
0:39:39 > 0:39:45Her diet is standard terrestrial, very low marine, which is exactly what you'd expect for that area,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48so it's unexciting, but it does pin her down...
0:39:48 > 0:39:53It's a mixed diet of presumably a bit of marine, a bit of fish, a bit of grain?
0:39:53 > 0:39:58Yeah, but mostly the grain element, very minimal kind of marine.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00In terms of where she came from,
0:40:00 > 0:40:06geographical banding is looking at southern England through to the central, western area.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11Again it corresponds with Baldock, so in terms of diet and provenance, she's local.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17If our woman was from a local tribe
0:40:17 > 0:40:19without access to Roman medicine,
0:40:19 > 0:40:25it was far more likely she would have had to try and give birth without intervention.
0:40:29 > 0:40:35Is natural childbirth to triplets now the most likely cause of death for this woman?
0:40:42 > 0:40:47To find out just how dangerous it is to try and give birth to triplets naturally,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51Xanthe goes to Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital in London
0:40:51 > 0:40:57which deals with more multiple births than anywhere else in the country.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Hi, Xanthe. Nice to meet you.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02She meets chief obstetrician, Dr Sailesh Kumar.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- Hi, Charlotte.- Hi.- This is Xanthe.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- Hello. Pleased to meet you.- And you.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11You're having a scan because you've got three, haven't you?
0:41:11 > 0:41:14- That's right.- Just to check the growth of the babies.
0:41:16 > 0:41:22Dr Kumar is performing a health check on mother Charlotte, heavily pregnant with her own triplets.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30- How far on are you? - 25 weeks and a few days.
0:41:30 > 0:41:36Triplets grow at the same rate as a single baby, putting much more pressure on the womb.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Do they kind of fight for space?
0:41:39 > 0:41:41I know they kick each other.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45So this little one weighs about 753 grams.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50And all the measurements equivalent to about 25 and a half weeks are pretty much spot-on.
0:41:50 > 0:41:56One of Charlotte's babies is in breech position, meaning feet or bottom down,
0:41:56 > 0:42:00a much more difficult position to give birth to a baby.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02How normal is this in triplet childbirth?
0:42:02 > 0:42:06- Is that what you'd expect with triplets, one being in breech?- Yeah.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10It would be unusual for all three babies to be head down
0:42:10 > 0:42:14because there's a limited amount of space within the uterus,
0:42:14 > 0:42:21so frequently you get one baby head down, the other baby lying across, the third baby in a breech position.
0:42:21 > 0:42:27- So carrying triplets, you'd never give birth naturally?- It would be highly unusual these days.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29- It's too dangerous?- Yes.
0:42:29 > 0:42:35Charlotte's triplets are progressing nicely, but there will be major medical intervention,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39including a Caesarean section to help her give birth.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44All three babies seem to be doing well. I'll just let you listen to a baby's heart.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47ECHOING SOUNDS
0:42:48 > 0:42:52But what of our mother and her three full-term babies 2,000 years ago
0:42:52 > 0:42:54in Romano Britain?
0:43:01 > 0:43:06In Dundee, Sue has gone back to the bones for one final examination.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11One of the babies becoming stuck in the birth canal, known as breech position,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14is the biggest threat to life in triple births.
0:43:15 > 0:43:21Yet according to their positions in the grave, none of our babies were found in the birth canal.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29So the overlays that Xanthe showed us in the briefing that came from the archaeologists are here.
0:43:29 > 0:43:36If we just have a quick look at those, this is Mum laid out in the burial outline.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40If you put the babies then in the rough position of the babies,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44the first one is sitting here towards her shoulder,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48the second baby is sitting down in here,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52between her thighs, a quite unusual place to find a baby.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55It's quite difficult to explain what that's about.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01But critically, Sue now believes the position of the second baby,
0:44:01 > 0:44:06previously thought to have been born and outside the mother, is misleading.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10Now, if this baby is found outside Mum's cavity,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14you have to say, "Well, was the baby born?" Not necessarily.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18Because if Mum dies while Baby is still trying to be born,
0:44:18 > 0:44:24then obviously that baby stays within the pelvic canal, within the birth canal.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26As Mum decomposes,
0:44:26 > 0:44:30inside her gut she creates a lot of gas
0:44:30 > 0:44:36and a lot of gas inside her actually causes a rise in pressure inside her abdomen
0:44:36 > 0:44:42and she can expel the baby after she's dead because of the rise in gases.
0:44:42 > 0:44:49But because the baby's decomposing as well, it's much easier for it to get through the birth canal as well,
0:44:49 > 0:44:56so that this found outside Mum doesn't mean that when she died, it was outside Mum.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02If the baby was stuck in the birth canal,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06only to be expelled through what's called a coffin birth,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10this could explain how that baby and the mother died.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13And there's another revelation.
0:45:13 > 0:45:19Sue believes that baby number three was not found merely under the mother.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22It was still in the womb when it died.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26This little person here, nobody ever knew it existed
0:45:26 > 0:45:32because this one was still waiting to be born. This is their secret child.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35She wouldn't have known it was there.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38We're the only ones that know that this baby existed.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45And the breech birth that killed the mother and two of the babies
0:45:45 > 0:45:51could also have indirectly led to the death of the baby that was born, found on the mother's shoulder.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56She'd already had one baby. That baby would have survived her,
0:45:56 > 0:46:02but if there isn't anyone to feed that baby, then that could have been an extra problem.
0:46:02 > 0:46:09But also babies who aren't with Mum are in a very, very dangerous position.
0:46:09 > 0:46:15Even if this baby was born alive, without its mother, perhaps the odds were against its survival
0:46:15 > 0:46:21which might explain why it too ended up in the grave along with its siblings.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25So all four deaths could have come from one breech birth.
0:46:29 > 0:46:34And Sue has an astonishing X-ray from the 1950s
0:46:34 > 0:46:40that graphically illustrates exactly how a breech birth could have had such fatal consequences.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44It's a full-term foetus, so there's the baby's head.
0:46:44 > 0:46:51There's the baby's vertebral column coming down there. There's one of its legs with a foot up here.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56Babies really don't bend well in the middle. That width isn't going to go through there.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59- There's no space in there.- No.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03And that's just with one that's gone to full-term.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07You imagine you've given birth to one, head down, and off it's gone.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11You've still got this one in here in this kind of a position
0:47:11 > 0:47:15and there's a third one in line still waiting to come out.
0:47:15 > 0:47:20She's not going to do it. She'll spend two, three days in labour,
0:47:20 > 0:47:25desperately trying to push out, getting weaker and weaker, and eventually she'll die.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29And as a result, all of them, all four of them have died.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33It's a tragic scenario,
0:47:33 > 0:47:39but until the DNA shows beyond doubt that the babies actually belong to the woman,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42it remains unproven.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50But who was she?
0:47:50 > 0:47:55The isotope results have already shown the woman grew up in the local region.
0:47:57 > 0:48:04So if she was from a Celtic tribe, what were the likely circumstances of the pregnancy?
0:48:14 > 0:48:19Xanthe goes to the Bath House at Segedunum near Newcastle
0:48:19 > 0:48:22to meet historian Lindsay Allason-Jones,
0:48:22 > 0:48:26an expert on the lives of women in Romano Britain.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31The tribe local to Baldock were called the Catuvellauni
0:48:31 > 0:48:35and there is evidence of how women from this tribe may have lived,
0:48:35 > 0:48:39including a surprising array of birth control options.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41- Oh, that's vinegar.- It is.
0:48:41 > 0:48:47- If you soak sheep's wool in vinegar and use it as a vaginal pessary... - Would it have worked?- Yes.
0:48:47 > 0:48:52- It wouldn't have smelt very nice. - No, but perhaps slightly better would be the olive oil
0:48:52 > 0:48:55and this, which is alum.
0:48:55 > 0:49:01- What's this?- This is a mineral which would have been ground up and used as a paste within a pessary.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06If you stuck to it, if you made sure that you were using it properly
0:49:06 > 0:49:09and you always did it, then it would have worked.
0:49:09 > 0:49:16According to Lindsay, these techniques and the fact that our woman was in her late 30s
0:49:16 > 0:49:20make her pregnancy unlikely to be a mistake.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25- Do you think the woman in Baldock would have been married? - Yes, most people were married.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29Celtic law saw a marriage between a man and a woman as a partnership
0:49:29 > 0:49:33- and they would go through life as life partners.- That's very romantic.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38You imagine they would have had loads of children running around.
0:49:38 > 0:49:43No, in Roman Britain, the evidence suggests they are controlling the size of their families
0:49:43 > 0:49:46and most families are having two or three children.
0:49:46 > 0:49:51Would it have been a shock? She's that much older to be a mother.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55It is quite late to be having children in the Roman period.
0:49:55 > 0:50:00This may be the result of a second marriage. Second marriages were quite common.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03But who might she have been married to?
0:50:03 > 0:50:08Surprisingly, Lindsay thinks it could have been the man buried just above her.
0:50:08 > 0:50:14The fact that they're actually one on top of the other at right angles and very closely aligned,
0:50:14 > 0:50:21I suspect suggests that this is her husband who knows where his wife is buried and wants to be with her.
0:50:21 > 0:50:27- So it wouldn't have been an accident that somebody would have been buried above her?- I don't think it was, no.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29It's a real surprise.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34Was this man her husband
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and the father of the children?
0:50:37 > 0:50:40For Sue, it's an intriguing possibility.
0:50:40 > 0:50:47Is he involved with her? Does he have any relationship to her at all? We don't know.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52But what we can do, if we're lucky, is get enough DNA out of that material
0:50:52 > 0:50:54that says, "Can we match DNA?"
0:50:54 > 0:51:00And we're back to paternity testing again. Gosh, we're in the news with paternity testing right now.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04Here we go, Roman paternity testing. Could he have been Dad?
0:51:04 > 0:51:09A bone sample from the male was also sent for DNA testing.
0:51:17 > 0:51:23Meanwhile, Caroline is close to discovering what our woman may have looked like.
0:51:23 > 0:51:29You can see her face developing in terms of the overall position of the features and the overall shape.
0:51:29 > 0:51:35Because she had a normal, healthy diet, that doesn't suggest that she was emaciated,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37so we're keeping her at normal stature.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42Because of her pregnancy, she may have had a slightly fuller face,
0:51:42 > 0:51:47but she's already got quite a square, rounded cheek look to her anyway.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51I think she might have a really interesting end product face here.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05The case is now reaching a close
0:52:05 > 0:52:09with only the key DNA results still to come.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14The team goes back to where the bones were found in Baldock
0:52:14 > 0:52:19to reveal the details of their investigation to the local community.
0:52:19 > 0:52:25Keen to hear their findings are those who excavated the site, experts who have assisted the team
0:52:25 > 0:52:28and members of the local community.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34It'll be really interesting to see the results of the scientific tests.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38We've never had this done with the stuff from Baldock before.
0:52:38 > 0:52:44Often as an archaeologist, when you look at skeletons, you do de-humanise them,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48so having the facial reconstruction is really an important thing.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51To me, this is what the fusion of history and science
0:52:51 > 0:52:57and archaeology and medical history and literary studies is all about. This is where it's at.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02The nightmare scenario would be discovering that the mother isn't the mother of the triplets.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Feel free. Come and have a look.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08What you're looking at is special.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10In fact, it is unique.
0:53:10 > 0:53:16And we've been very privileged to be allowed to look at these remains.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20We think we've got some very interesting information to tell you.
0:53:20 > 0:53:25Sue will reveal what the science has brought to the case,
0:53:25 > 0:53:30but how will those who have lived with the bones for over 20 years react?
0:53:30 > 0:53:33The carbon-14 dating that came back for our lady
0:53:33 > 0:53:36was between 6 and 214 AD.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41So our individuals are unquestionably in the early Roman period.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45What the isotopes tell us was that in terms of their diet,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47these are local individuals.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50They are local to Baldock.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52But she's in her 30s.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55She's a late mum.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59She may well have been very, very heavily pregnant.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03- She's gone to full term. She's gone the full distance.- Wow!
0:54:04 > 0:54:07And she was only four foot eleven.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10- There's a lot of weight in there. - Yeah.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18But what of the DNA?
0:54:18 > 0:54:24Will these final scientific results prove a familiar link between the woman and the babies?
0:54:27 > 0:54:29There's good news
0:54:29 > 0:54:32and there's bad with DNA.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35I have to admit, looking at the quality of this,
0:54:35 > 0:54:42we said on the day the chances of getting DNA out of this are extremely slim,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46which just shows how much we don't know.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51The DNA from Baby 2 matches with the DNA from Baby 3
0:54:51 > 0:54:54which matches with Mum.
0:54:57 > 0:55:03We couldn't get any DNA out of Baby 1 which is just so unfair,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07but what's the chance that that baby doesn't belong?
0:55:07 > 0:55:11It's highly unlikely. It's got to belong to her.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14The woman was indeed the mother of the babies,
0:55:14 > 0:55:16but was the man the father?
0:55:16 > 0:55:18So, paternity testing?
0:55:20 > 0:55:23We couldn't get any DNA out of him.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26I'm so sorry.
0:55:26 > 0:55:33It's a remarkable story of a mother's struggle to give birth to triplets 2,000 years ago.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38It's about the journey that she has gone through
0:55:38 > 0:55:44in an event that most of us take for granted will result in something that is terribly happy and natural
0:55:44 > 0:55:49and will be just fine at the end because that's what we're used to.
0:55:49 > 0:55:54Her story isn't quite as successful, but it is incredibly important.
0:55:55 > 0:56:00Finally, it falls to Caroline to reveal the mother's face.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16To be able to see her face is really quite amazing.
0:56:16 > 0:56:21- She's striking. She's definitely striking. - She's very capable looking.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24- The face of a good child-bearer. - Absolutely.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28I like her though. There's something engaging about her.
0:56:28 > 0:56:34But her story is complete and in the completion of her story, it's the closure of the case.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37I think that we've gone as far as we can.
0:56:37 > 0:56:43I'm thrilled. Getting those results is just amazing. It couldn't have been better.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47She couldn't survive that with the conditions she was living in,
0:56:47 > 0:56:51with the help that was available to her, and that's very striking.
0:56:51 > 0:56:56It sort of rounds off a story that was started 20 years ago
0:56:56 > 0:57:02and a mystery and an enigma, and it's given us a vast new amount of information. I think that's great.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08This case started with a skeleton assumed to be a social outcast,
0:57:08 > 0:57:11maybe the victim of a suspicious death.
0:57:12 > 0:57:18But it's ended with the profile of a local, healthy and probably married woman,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21strong enough to carry three babies to term,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24but in the end, the victim of a simple human tragedy -
0:57:24 > 0:57:30pregnant with triplets in a time when the odds of surviving were stacked against her.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35These extraordinary bones will now be handed back to the community.
0:57:35 > 0:57:41The only ever recorded case of Romano-British triplets is now closed.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44It is a sad case, but boy, is she important
0:57:44 > 0:57:50when it comes to recording how we handled these kinds of multiple births.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54And that story has come from the remains,
0:57:54 > 0:58:00so we feel very privileged to just have the temporary custodianship of them, so we can work with them.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04From this point forward, her story will be remembered.
0:58:26 > 0:58:31Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk