As Halloween approaches, archaeological evidence from Cura Terrae excavations in North Yorkshire reveal some of the unusual ways people in Roman Britain treated their dead.
Decapitated bodies, face-down graves and mysterious objects reveal the darker side of life – and death – in Roman North Yorkshire.
Nine coins placed inside the mouth of a Roman man, two decapitated bodies buried with their heads at their feet, and people deliberately laid face-down are among the extraordinary discoveries unearthed beneath the A1.
As Halloween approaches, archaeological evidence from Cura Terrae excavations in North Yorkshire reveal some of the unusual ways people in Roman Britain treated their dead – raising questions about what they believed happened after death.
As part of the excavation of 308 human burials uncovered across 14 locations, dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Anglo-Saxon period, several of the Roman burials shed light on rituals of the time.
In Catterick, North Yorkshire, archaeologists uncovered a Roman burial in which a man had been laid to rest with a stack of nine coins in his mouth. The coins date the burial to shortly after AD325.
Burials were commonplace in the Roman period, where they believed their souls would be angry and could do harm to the living if not buried. This is aligned to the voyage to the underworld (ruled by Pluto), which could only happen if you were buried. The coins below are a part of this tradition. The practice is particularly intriguing because the more common practice was one coin. Cura Terrae archaeologists suggest this may be overpayment or something to guarantee passage. The coins, known as Charons Obol, are a payment for a ferryman to take their soul across the river which separated the land of the living from that of the dead. Whilst this belief has a Greek origin, it was maintained in some culture groups into the Roman period.
And he was not alone in receiving an unusual burial.
Two other individuals were found to be decapitated, with their skulls placed beyond their feet. Archaeologists found evidence that both graves also contained elements of stone-built coffins, known as cists.
Two further individuals had been buried face-down, rather than in the more typical supine position. Whilst their precise meaning remains unknown, the concentration among some of the later burials may point to changing beliefs and practices towards the end of the Roman period.
Other discoveries add to the picture of a society where objects placed with the dead carry particular significance. These include pierced coins, pendants and a pierced dog tooth, which archaeologists suggest may have formed part of an amulet or collection of protective objects.
Halloween is usually associated with ghost stories, supernatural tales and stories of the dead coming back to life, but these discoveries give a window into the deeply personal beliefs of people thousands of years ago about death, burial, and the afterlife. Although views on death during the Roman period were diverse, these findings reflect more traditional attitudes, such as coins for the ferryman to ensure passage to the underworld, and the act of burial itself, to allow this passage to begin and prevent angry spirits haunting the living. The burial of decapitated individuals may have served to prevent vengeful spirits from returning, and a prone burial may have been a sign of disrespect. The discovery of these burials gives a rare insight into the beliefs and traditions of Roman communities in North Yorkshire.
Stuart Ross Post-excavation Manager at Cura Terrae
The discoveries form part of major archaeological investigations along the A1, providing one of the largest collections of Roman burials in northern England.
Far from simply revealing who lived in the region, the discoveries are helping archaeologists understand how people died, how they were treated after death and what those practices can tell us about identity and belief almost 2,000 years ago.
