Archaeologists nail evidence of UK crucifixions
Remains of a slave who lived up to 1,900 years ago are first example of Roman death penalty in Britain
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found the “best physical evidence for a crucifixion in the Roman world” at a site earmarked for a housing estate in Cambridgeshire.
The remains of a man, who had a 2in iron nail embedded in his right heel bone, were discovered in an ancient grave in the village of Fenstanton alongside an oak board he is thought to have been pinned to.
He is believed to have died aged between 25 and 35, and his emaciated bone structure suggests he was most likely a Roman slave who was routinely punished by his master.
The 5ft 7in body was uncovered by a team of professional excavators in 2017, who were analysing the site in preparation for a housing development to be built on the site. The man died between AD 130 and AD 337, according to radiocarbon dating.
It is the first example of a Roman crucifixion in the UK, and one of only a handful of similar cases worldwide.
David Ingham, who led the dig, told The Daily Telegraph: “It’s essentially the first time that we’ve found physical evidence for this practice of crucifixion during an archaeological excavation.
“It’s the best example of a crucified individual from the Roman world.
“You just don’t find this. We have written evidence but we almost never find physical evidence.
“We’d like to stage a reconstruction at some point to see what he looked like. We’d use the skull and recreate the whole body.”
Corinne Duhig, an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge, concluded that crucifixion was the only likely explanation for the injuries.
It is thought that the man’s limbs had been tethered during his life, as his lower legs showed signs of thinning due to shackles. He had lost a lot of his back teeth and suffered from arthritis in his back.
He was most likely crucified on a roadside half a mile away from the small cemetery, where he was buried alongside six other graves. Crucifixion was the main form of capital punishment in Roman times. Constantine the Great banned the practice during his reign in AD 306-337. They reserved the punishment for condemned slaves, rebels and the lower classes.
It was a method designed to prolong an agonising death, and to serve as a warning to others about disrespecting the authorities.
Suffocation was the usual cause of death during crucifixion, as the arms being pinned above the head made it impossible to breathe.
Despite the link between crucifixion and Christianity, experts believe there was no religious element in this case.
It is highly unusual for a victim of crucifixion to be buried, as they are usually left in the open or thrown into a pit.
It is also very rare to recover the nails used to pin the person to the wooden frame, as they were often recovered following death because of the high value of metal in Roman times.
Biblical texts refer to the cross in crucifixions but using a wooden board is thought to be a local variation in this case.
Experts also found a half-inch-deep hole beside where the nail was embedded in the man’s heel, suggesting that an initial attempt to pin his body to the wood to stop him moving may have failed. Archaeologists believe it would have taken him more than a day to die.
The first skeletal evidence for crucifixion was found in 1968 during an excavation of a cemetery in Givat Hamivtar, in Jerusalem.
Once again, a heel bone with an embedded nail was discovered.
However, the remains were less well preserved than the Fenstanton man, and had been moved from one burial site to another.
Other skeletons with holes in their feet were discovered in Mendes, in Egypt, in the 1990s, and in Gavello, Italy, in 2006, but it is not certain they were caused by crucifixion.
Archaeologists have found 48 sets of remains in five Fenstanton cemeteries during digs between 2017 and 2018.
Other items found at the excavation site included 239 cattle bones, which may have been used to make soap and cosmetics.
There was also an enamelled horseand-rider brooch and other copperalloy items, suggesting there may have been a temple or shrine nearby.
Fenstanton was located on a Roman road between Cambridge and Godmanchester – the two major Roman settlements at the time.