Opening A Roman Coffin: Watch The Video Here

Last year archaeologists found a stone coffin dating back to Roman times during a dig at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire.

The amazing video below was taken by the archaeologists as they opened the coffin for the very first time.

Opening a Roman Coffin from Wessex Archaeology on Vimeo.

The grave is one of about 300 in a Roman cemetery, next to a settlement. It was the only one to contain a stone coffin though.

As the coffin had been buried for around 2000 years archaeologists didn't have high hopes for the contents before opening it up... they expected it to be full of earth.

What they found instead amazed them. Inside were the bones of a woman cradling a small child.

The coffin had preserved the remains so well that even the woman's leather and cork slippers and the child's calfskin shoes were still intact.

The video shows just how exciting it was for the team when they got their first peek inside. You even get to see an infra-red camera view inside the coffin. Good digger action too :)

Take a look for yourself by clicking on the play arrow above.

You can find out more detail about the coffin and its discovery on the Wessex Archaeology website .

If the video gets you thinking about having a go at archaeology yourself, check out the Young Archaeologists Club. They have loads of branches for kids aged 8 to 16. Members get a great magazine and the chance to have a go at hands-on digging alongside the experts.

Finally, if you're looking for more info on the Romans, there are lots more links on our very own Romans page.