NEW EPISODE | Time Team: Return to Broughton Sarcophagus (Day 2) Expedition Crew - BRAND NEW DIG

** NEW DIG - Part 2 of 2 **
Time Team returns to Broughton Roman Villa to investigate the mysterious stone sarcophagus that originally led to the site's discovery.
In September 2021, the full team had the usual three days to shed light on a huge Roman villa on the Broughton Castle estate. But with questions still remaining unanswered, we've sent in our new Expedition Crew for a closer look.
It's our second and final day in Oxfordshire. Can we answer all of our questions in the time remaining?
Catch up on Day 1 here: • NEW EPISODE | Time Tea...
Catch up on Time Team's original 3-day dig at Broughton here: • FEATURE LENGTH | TIME ...
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CREDITS
Special thanks to the Broughton Estate
Thanks to Dr John Pearce, Keith Westcott, Oxford Archaeology, all the contributors and Time Team's Patreon members and supporters who have helped to make this episode possible
PCs, monitors, laptops and rugged tablets used by Time Team kindly supplied by Dell Technologies
Amiternum tomb carving photograph courtesy of Luisa Ricciarini / Bridgeman Images
Time Team theme performed by Charles Harrison: @CharlesHarrisonMusic
3D models and reconstructions by Matt 'Bear' Clark: @ShadowTorStudios
Aerial photography and photogrammetry by Adam Stanford / Aerial Cam
Illustrations by Jon Elworthy
Filmed and edited by Gareth Allen / Chris Dewar / Soundview Media: @soundviewmedia
Series Producer: Tim Taylor

[@ToddTevlin]

You can see the moment Helen's heart sank when hearing about the lid being smashed up and hauled away.

[@juststeve7665]

I started swearing at the blatant ignorance and narcissism.

[@HairyNumbNuts]

It's awful. On the other hand you have to be thankful that someone in the family is willing to allow the archaeologists onto the site and is willing to wear the loss of some crop. I'm guessing his son or whoever the current owner is is somewhat more enlightened.

[@ToddTevlin]

@@HairyNumbNuts It also shows you how much archaeology has come in the last 60 years in regards to being more mindful of the consequences of doing stuff like that.

[@CabinetOfCuriosity]

MY heart sank. 🫣😳☹️🤢

[@lisamoore6804]

Yeah, I could tell it really bothered her. I wasn't very happy about it either but what can you do? It was a long time ago.

[@geo-s-8530]

Raise a glass to Professor Mick

[@MacWhatley]

I like this shorter format to answer specific questions. Time Team has always been about testing, to gather information, but there are some sites that need more work, and taking the entire team back would be really expensive. I really like Helen and Derek as a presenter team, and Derek does a great job with the narration- his voice is almost as soothing as Tim Taylor's.

[@JooseyLu]

Farmer: We broke up the lid and threw it away Helen (internal monologue): YOU DID WHAAAAT!!!!!! F*@##*## Helen *calmly*: Why did you do that? Give this lady a knighthood.

[@elizabethneill3825]

Helen was very self-possessed. I admired her strength, too. Well done.

[@TitusVarus]

I started foaming at the mouth. Helen's self-control was impressive.

[@elizabethneill3825]

I want to learn how to be as gracious as Helen. I guess I should just rewatch this episode every night before I go to bed so that I can absorb Helen's graciousness through osmosis.

[@ArkhBaegor]

TBF that farmer would've been young back then, probably not his decision

[@AmySoyka]

3:02 Would be great if the farmer can remember where they put the lid.

[@northwall9243]

Naomi is fantastic to see back on time team. Love this new series, very cool idea to revisit sites. Helen's the best

[@elizabethneill3825]

Hear, hear! 100% agree.

[@RHCole]

Oh wow, the team standing around the coffin with the fade to that artist's rendering of the burial was [chef's kiss] perfect! Gave me chills! Good work all around, can't wait until your next video! Cheers, A Pleased Patron

[@girlnorthof60]

🤔 I wonder if those lid pieces could still be located deep under the farmer's dump site & also question if there are signs of structures/ other burials/ or anomalies in the wider area surrounding this burial? (It would be interesting to strip back a larger area to look for cart ruts/a road etc (how they got it there?) Fascinating, I'm excited for next year's results & the show to be released. These 'Expedition Crew' videos are A++

[@RobBoudreau]

Will love to see what the final analysis of all this work will be. I think TT has another hit on their hands with the Expedition Crew. Well done!

[@SandraNelson063]

I have to wait another day? Oh, botheration! It's the loveliest Christmas goodie I've had in a while. I'm waiting with worms on my tongue!

[@helenamcginty4920]

Wow. Never heard that expression. Where does it come from? (Im into language as well as archaeology)

[@jayebyrd9953]

@@helenamcginty4920 "Baited Breath"

[@medievalladybird394]

I just looked that one up: prone to lashing out. And there are such things as tongue worms. I'm guessing that's about as disgusting as it gets and probably drives you crazy

[@janewood8665]

Helen is my absolute favourite! I’d love to see more of her, she is so knowledgeable

[@skieje]

It will be interesting to hear in the future what else they are able to learn about this lady. If they were to choose to do DNA testing, if they were able to extract enough DNA, that would be an extra level of interesting!

[@markusreeve]

You could almost feel Helen's horror when hearing about the lid being smashed up.

[@hammerandspannerman1]

Just wonderful that in real terms the digs can be more than 3 days if further work is needed. Hope this can be carried forward to other digs if needed. It's all starting to evolve good work all. Mick would be proud 👍

[@porschetech2491]

I bet she was livid when he told her they broke the lid 😂

[@grendel_nz]

This is much better format, closer to the magic of the originals. No unnecessary waffle. Seeing the team excavating away.

[@peterhill7846]

Fascinating. This worked really well with Helen and Derek doing the talking. Really enjoyed this one.

[@malcolmmartin1761]

Is the farmer, John Taylor (or those who helped him in 1963) able to show the Team where "the old quarry" is where he (and those others) put the lid??? If it's an "old quarry" then the parts of the lid may still be there. Even if you only found part of it.......

[@rotironwerks]

Mr Taylor made reference to the fact that they used iron bars to break up the lid. Likely used to make gravel or base to fill in ruts in roads etc. Would have been used long ago on my ranch anyway.

[@larryzigler6812]

@@rotironwerks Proud of that ?

[@ltipst2962]

@@larryzigler6812 I can't imagine they're proud. Doing your ancestors shame isn't something to be proud about. But like he said, it's in the middle of a field, you can't sow seeds and he unlikely knew what it was.

[@larryzigler6812]

@@ltipst2962 Drivel

[@Tommi_D]

The comment that many of these sarcophagi have been dug up and used as horse troughs reminded me that theres a very similar object against the wall of Burford churchyard which locals argue between being a roman sarcophagus, or the coffin of a saxon noble from the battle between King Æthelbald of Mercia and King Cuthred of the West Saxons in 752 AD, as it was found in 1814, a mile outside Burford near "Battle Edge" where the fight took place. However I also know there was a roman villa very close to the historically reported site where it was found. Supposedly, the bones which were passed to the British museum, were incredibly well preserved due to a red "cement like" substance between the lid and sarcophagus and blue clay brought from some distance. They also found what they described as a leather, studded garment "not unlike a roman lorica", although they still believed this to be saxon. From the Dig at Broughton and knowing my local landscape, I'm imagining the Villa at Burford could have been very similar with the river windrush being used for milling grain or fishing and the burial site some way up the hill, looking down on the living...Its all so Fascinating!

[@laurentivoli1183]

This is interesting. Seems they were thorough in sealing the sarcophagus, perhaps rather than air interment, they didn't want something to escape the vessel. There's lots of questions here.

[@bernieozzie7480]

Early morning ahead in Australia, but who cares. Can't wait

[@heathercrabb2363]

I am so stoked that you were able to go back and provide us more follow up from your previous dig. So amazing!!!

[@amandachapman4708]

What I would like to know more about is the sarcophagus itself, and the broken stone that was taken out. What kind of stone and where would it have been quarried? (Maybe even the "old quarry" the farmer spoke about?)

[@joelj1355]

I’m actually surprised at the good condition of the sarcophagus….so sturdy it smashed plows versus the other way around. Although of much less value due to lack of context, I would love to “dig” the hedges surrounding these fields. Certainly some material must have been gradually dragged to the edges by plow action, or thrown there by farmers, through the centuries.

[@brentm9848]

Isn't it more likely that they'd actually put the box in the ground before the mourners arrive, and the body lowered in?

[@charlesgantz5865]

I'm wondering if there was a supply of Sarcophagi and lead liners stored somewhere. Death was a pretty common occurrence back then.

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

@@charlesgantz5865 No more common than today, everyone still dies. The amount of lead needed to make a liner was still a pretty hefty sum of money back then, it wasn't the cheap material we know of today. Making a sarcophagus wasn't cheap either, even roughly hewn...that's a lot of quarrying effort, transportation, and shaping by craftsmen to just have a bunch in storage. Most likely each individual handled their own affairs while they were still in good health, they commissioned their own burial effects and had their sarcophagi stored in the family or local mausoleum, or just somewhere on their estate. When the time came, they knew their remains would be taken care of.

[@telsnr7735]

@@charlesgantz5865 Not now, of course..... a common occurrence that is. 😁

[@djb3500]

@@Skinflaps_Meatslapper would probably still be worth preparing some on spec, though. Would have to be in a rich area so there was a reasonable chance of a rich person popping their clogs at the right time.

[@Wilkse1]

Geake and Pitman , sound like an old 70s Rock duo

[@shri081]

I love the fact that they have revisited a site and filled in the blanks on a thing of note at that dig…three days is never enough…but we understand the need for such a format…but a small revisit like this soon after a dig rounds off that chapter quite well….this was probably the only qualm I used to have with old TT…they hardly ever revisited sites for our viewing pleasure…only a few that I can remember…great job TT…more of this too whenever possible please…

[@wiretamer5710]

Waste stone often stays were it is dumped in rural quarries. It is definitely worth a look, hopefuly with the farmer in tow.

[@Diogenes_43]

There’s a book called The Ancient City by Fustel de Coulanges that does a great job explaining the Manes and Lares. Worth reading for anyone interested in ancient religious beliefs.

[@Mark-xx8go]

I wondered, briefly, if the chunks of worked stone found with the coffin, were from the block of stone, i.e. the sarcophagus had been carved, or finished, on site, and these were waste bits. But towards the end of this dig those pieces of stone were shown apparently placed together and they do look like the shape of the lid. Strange, unless, unknown to the farmer here, or he's forgotten, the pieces had been taken back to the site and re buried with the rest. As somebody has already asked, wouldnt it be worth seeing if the broken lid is still were it was reportedly taken to? Great couple of episodes.

[@jimferry6539]

Aw no way ! I’m sure I found one of these when I was a kid, a neighbour asked me to remove a tree stump from his garden and about 2-3ft under the surface was a huge flat stone similar to what they’re describing here, at first we thought it could of been a grave or something but we couldn’t really make out the writing in the stone & it was too heavy to move so we had to just break it up. After we got the big stone out there was a deep pit with bits of chard coal or wood in it so we just assumed it must of been a coal storage pit for somebody. 😅 pretty gutted now I’ve watched this, oh and the house is literally 30ft from a Roman road. The Margary number for the Roman road is 712 for anybody interested

[@Tommi_D]

Living just down the road in Burford (I visited the priory dig when Timeteam came to town) I can't wait to find out more. Timeteam on KZbin has become my guilty secret when preparing to go to bed most nights. Keep up the excellent work and thank you for uncovering this amazing lands history.

[@piccalillipit9211]

HAHHAHAHAHA "Timeteam on KZbin has become my guilty secret when preparing to go to bed most nights" ME TOO Im on Time Team S09-E03 Kinlochbervie,.Scotland at the moment

[@ltipst2962]

@@piccalillipit9211 good taste :) we're all soft

[@RHCole]

This is an AMAZING new addition to the show! Will this be in addition to the normal digs each season? Cheers, A Pleased Patron

[@stevea9604]

I think a re-evaluation of previous digs artifacts, with todays technologies as you did with this would be of tremendous research value and very interesting to watch…Sort of revisiting old friends 👍🏻👌🏻🤩🧐

[@SECRETORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR]

Yeah today's technology has come in leaps and bounds..

[@rickstanley9710]

Looking at the watercolor painting of this Romano-British woman, I can't escape the thought that had she been wealthy enough to own a PURPLE ROBE, she wouldn't be buried in a field in Oxfordshire. Such an item would have been worth much more than the entire roman estate she was buried at. In fact, she would have had to be very closely related to an Emperor if I'm not mistaken. May want to instruct your artist on the history they're trying to represent.

[@DragonFae16]

A stole sarcophagus would need to have been started years before the person died. Considering how unfinished it was, I'm guessing like the team said she died long before her family was expecting her to. The sarcophagus was done enough that it could be used, so her family used it because they wanted to show the ancestors how important she was.

[@michaelrudolph7003]

Maybe, in fact, much like Tutankhamen, the sarcophagus was actually being made for someone else entirely but urgent need required it's use for her and not the originally intended older person. In Tut's case it was the burial chamber as he was obviously much too young to have started much work on the true tomb for a pharaoh. They had to use what was already available.

[@DragonFae16]

@@michaelrudolph7003 That is also a possibility. Either way, the unfinished state of the sarcophagus implies that she died unexpectedly and things were a bit rushed.

[@fraeris1]

Good evening from Norway 🇧🇻 Looking forward to some Time Team between all Christmas decoration 🧑‍🎄

[@vigfusg]

Love this new format. Hope the Exp. Crew will go on.

[@technonarg5978]

A Christmas treat from the time team,really looking forward to the next investigation.

[@MrWompz]

Time Team is still doing great work!!!

[@RobertJESimpson]

Fascinating. Sounds like there are more questions about the additional stone then, if the farmer's memory is correct and the original lid was smashed and removed offsite. What is it then, if not a lid? Wouldn't a Roman grave marker not normally be inscribed?

[@Phiyedough]

It seems very odd that you would remove a thin stone lid but backfill with thicker lumps of stone.

[@ArkhBaegor]

I'm guessing the 60s archeologists brought what they could find of the stone back

[@joekenorer]

This was awesome, of all the things I wish they'd investigate further this sarcophagus was near the top of the list. I can't wait to hear the final results of their work.

[@rosemaryjwalsh]

Loving this. Helen is awesome!!!

[@jackie4286]

Really good two episodes

[@lizstevenson7801]

That was fascinating, absolutely amazing all the history those bone can tell us plus the burial and the sarcophagus. Thank you everyone of the Time Team. 💕🇦🇺

[@frankpellow]

I absolutely loved these two mini episodes. Really focused and informative. Please do more of these

[@Gasher82nd]

i would have gone with the stones put in on the refill as marker stones or if did fit together in some way maybe a early head stone broken up? but great to see time team down to work discovering new history for us. Helen as always been my pin up girl and still as gorgeous as ever. ;-)

[@makwilson2050]

Well done everyone involved! Absolutely loved that, and great to see Derek and Lawrence getting their hands dirty for once. I bet they loved it too! 👏👏👍🙏👍🖖

[@tallthinwavy3]

Nicely done again, Time Team.

[@valeriebishop561]

This was so well put together! I loved the drawings to bring it to life.

[@doncook2054]

Great cinematography/editing....one almost felt in there with them!!! Beautiful work!. An ecstatic Patron!!!!~

[@elizabethneill3825]

It was very lovely to look at.

[@cindersoz]

Great to see Time Team is back!!!

[@mariafletcher6603]

Thanks guys and girls. Exceptional brilliant as ever. Good Job. Only time team could pull this off in two days. lovely jubbly. till the next 1. catch you on the flip side. from UK 🇬🇧👍👍

[@maggiebrinkley4760]

This is utterly fascinating! Hooray for Time Team, you teach us so much, not just about archaeology but about how our ancestors used to live. One thing that troubles me (as an ex-Health and Safety Union Representative) is that nobody is wearing any protection when dealing with the lead on the site. Is that because you're in the open air? I love these videos! Thank you!

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

Lead is rather inert once it forms an oxidize layer, and it oxidizes rapidly in nature. My assumption is whatever lead particles that are detached from the sheet are well oxidized, they're not in an enclosed environment, and they're probably washing their hands and clothes regularly anyway. There are many places in the world where natural lead deposits are magnitudes higher than what might be found here, but since the lead is locked up in oxidized minerals (like galena) it's not particularly harmful unless you're truly careless about it.

[@ltipst2962]

@@Skinflaps_Meatslapper So you're saying licking it is out of the option

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

@@ltipst2962 Anything is lickable if you're brave enough...

[@genie5251]

Incredibly interesting. Thank you for making this available. I appreciate the pace, too.

[@W4iteFlame]

Well...keep us posted. It will be interesting to know her (and her bones) story.

[@hourslookingsideways7850]

I can't help but feel that they are digging up my ancestor.

[@MeissnerEffect]

I hope you’re all being safe little archaeologists and wearing sunscreen! Love from Mr Safety McSafeFace ❤️

[@kathybryan3374]

Thank you so much for this, I am so pleased you went back and these episodes have been fascinating.

[@joannamallory2823]

🎶 don’t pay the ferry man, until he gets you to the other side 🎶😁

[@besenzon1]

Hi, is there going to be a Part 3. Would love to know the results of the tests on the bones and soil. Many thanks for the new episodes.

[@lesames3743]

Wonderful episode from the mighty time team. Look forward to the next one

[@jmc7034]

Shame you only had 2 days. Loved the vids❤️❤️❤️

[@donnaoglesby1278]

I could hear my heart sink, as Helen was asking the farmer about the lid that he took and smashed with a crow bar and took away...SIGH!! not knowing what the significance of that really was...why did you only have TWO days and not the regular three?? Sad that for whatever reason the head is gone. Did they originally have the head the first time they dug her up and examined her?? This Whole things is very interesting and wait to hear more about it all. Find it so strange that of all the land and the buildings they found, they only found ONE grave, then again they did not geo the entire area, did they?? Just fantastic...Great Job!

[@elizabethneill3825]

I would like to know if they found the head in 1963. Was this discussed earlier and I just missed it?

[@faithlesshound5621]

@@elizabethneill3825 This was Oxfordshire, after all, so they must have had knowledgeable people at the county archaeology department or museum and would have had a galaxy of talent to call upon from the university. Mick Aston started work there in 1970, so this was before his time. Details must have been published somewhere: the local paper (the Oxford Mail), maybe the national press, and after a few years the academic journals too. Funny about the skull going missing!

[@Dan-wo4bx]

Be good to make a mound on top of the area to prevent any plough damage in the future. Laying a thin slab of stone over the top may help with any future works .

[@Andy.Gledhill.Models.]

Cracking stuff. I am curious. Was this the only burial in that field? Was the field GeoPhysed when the main Time Team dig was done?

[@mrlister2000]

Ask the farmer where the quarry is and investigate that site for broken remains of the lid!!!!

[@robertlester2289]

Totally amazing guys. I am always amazed by what I see.

[@Popcorncedar]

I can’t believe they smashed the lid up.

[@SECRETORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR]

LOLS 😂😂

[@elfeneule103]

Is it definite that the sacophagus was always underground? Or could it have been on top of the ground in Roman times? Like a mausoleum. It is not far underground today.

[@worldmusic09]

My thoughts exactly. I really doubt it was buried to the lid in Roman times if it was only that deep. Part of it certainly remained above ground.

[@dotlaing1085]

Absolutely awesome…thank you all…Merry Christmas xx

[@heartsaliveart]

Very cool! I totally enjoyed these. I hope you do more. Merry Christmas and all the best in 2023 to all the time team.

[@GyurlTrini]

Hey! Interesting! When I saw the depth of the sarcophagus, I had another question ... is it possible there are others buried below the original person within the same sarcophagus?

[@petertaylor4980]

I thought that it was curious that they didn't even mention the idea.

[@brucetheloon]

It looks like they reached the stone bottom of the inside of the sarcophagus, especially visible when Naomi removed the sacrum, and unless there was an entire perfectly fitted false floor, it was probably the limit of it.

[@petertaylor4980]

@@brucetheloon at 14:35 I think you can see the edge of the stone, a couple of cm of earth, and then the lead lining. It looked to me like they'd reached the bottom of the lead lining. Also, I don't think the sacrum would have been underneath the lining, and removing the lining would have been a complicated operation.

[@laurentivoli1183]

shhh, don't ask questions...

[@Trixtah]

As well as it looking like they'd reached the bottom, the earlier excavation had emptied the entire coffin and only recorded one body.

[@lionelgray]

I do think that it was made on site and the stone "lid" fragments were part of that process. That would explain the irregular thicknesses, they were just used as part of the original backfill and reused by the 60s dig to pack around the remains.

[@lecolintube]

Thanks so much Time Team. I know, the same as the team, we all wish you had more time on these digs (both big and small). Thanks again!

[@Jerbod2]

They should really try and relocate the lid in that quarry. Edit: To find one piece would give so much information about the lid, the material, the thickness.

[@user-ix9jt9by4x]

When archaeological digs go on for weeks at a time, season after season in the same place, I am not sure what they hoped to achieve in 2 days? It's like archaeology for people with really short attention spans.

[@malcolmmartin1761]

So, will we get Video 3 with the results of Naomi's work? Will Stewart, or one of the others, return to the "old quarry" to see if they can find the pieces of the sarcophagus lid? All to play for...and I wait with bated breath......t

This was a very nice littel series. Great to see some follow up investigation.

[@pambowers8890]

Amazing..thank you....Perfect..

[@TheTiffanyAching]

Loved the commentary. Well done, indeed, for a two-day dig.

[@trevorrix8018]

I reckon the inside could be a double decker - so maybe a return to check in 2023 🙂

[@dzzope]

And 3 quarters 😂 love it.

[@matthewwillis5242]

Love this new format!!

[@martinjefferson3395]

Fantastic, surely a great hole must have been dug with a ramp then the prefabricated sarcophagus was transported by great effort of ox and men slid into it. I presume the lack of reported evidence of stone working means it must of been manufactured elsewhere. I suspect tombs were ordered at certain specific meaningful times in a childs development. Ones that survived over 5 years could expect a long and healthy life long into their late 30s or 40s so wealthy parents could start making provision. I await with interest the DNA/Teeth analysis to show if these were native Brits made good or of Roman extraction.

[@ChristaFree]

Loving it!

[@PaulJames-gg8un]

Delighted to see that the folks (or some of them) returned to this site. Gives some closure. Well done.

[@54mgtf22]

Love your work 👍

[@mattsmith4053]

It must have been a pretty immense feat just to get the lump of stone (must be 6 or 7 tons) carved into a 3.8 ton sarcophagus then to the site and into the ground. There's no way that was gently lowered anywhere, I'd say more likely they'll have dug a shallow ramp in then dragged it into place before building the land around it back up again. The only other simple way to do it would be to fill the hole with wood, drag the sarcophagus on top then set fire to the wood so as it burns down it drops into the hole but there would be a huge amount of burnt material underneath if that was the case.

[@faithlesshound5621]

Or ... could it have been Ancient Aliens with their superior technology?

[@mattsmith4053]

@@faithlesshound5621 there weren't ancient aliens. It's a lazy explanation because people can't grasp that people have, and always will build and invent brilliant "things" because that's what people do that separates us from other animals. We are a species of stubborn fiddler's, can't leave anything alone and on the whole "we can't do that" doesn't come into it.

[@MossyMozart]

@Matt Smith - The Romans were adept at engineering; look at the Roman aqueducts that still stand across Europe. And there's the older "Time Team" episode where they discovered large, fancy Roman tombs built at a site near Hadrian's Wall.

[@jaynehorn151]

Stunning dig. I wonder if there’s a second coffin where the top was smashed

[@MossyMozart]

@Jayne Horn - Ahhh!

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible!

[@layalabi1667]

Brilliant!!!

[@davidcaldecoat7414]

Wow that was truly amazing

[@ian1957ruth]

I have read all the comments about the lid being broken up and taken away, so as not to interfere with future ploughing. However there were several shots showing the metal clips, clearly showing them above the height of the sarcophagus rim. Surely these would have interfered with ploughing as well? Just a thought.

[@widgetb]

Fantastic!

[@Davlavi]

Informative as always.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thank you. Happy Christmas to all.

[@asburycollins9182]

Thank you ♥️

[@5ryane]

It probably was a water trough for animals then used for the burial and lid made after deciding to use as a coffin as well as lead lining.I should have watched to the end, man said some of these where used as water troughs.

[@calsale6424]

Does the farmer know where the lid was dumped, and could it be recovered? Does he remember any markings on the lid? Could the other "lid" be from another nearby sarcophagus?

[@DMLand]

“We smashed the ol' lid up with [an] iron bar and it was thrown on a trailer and taken away.” They “threw it in the old quarry” because it would have gotten in the way of their farm machinery. The looks exchanged among the team working inside and around the sarcophagus as he natters on about trashing an irreplaceable relic are priceless.

[@andychaplin6517]

With all that was said about the difficulties in burying the sarcophagus and how close it is to the surface, is it possible that some of it stood proud from the ground when she was originally placed in it? So like you see in modern graveyards today (even though the body in modern ones will be some way below the surface under the facings on the ground level