Free Republic

The work has been carried out by specialists in the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) at the University of Dundee, one of the world's leading centres for facial reconstruction. Caroline Erolin, Lecturer in Forensic and Medical Art at CAHID, said, "His grave lay slightly under an important sarcophagus burial, which had resulted in excellent preservation of his skull making it the best candidate among the skeletons for facial reconstruction." ... "The burial of this man was one of eight burials which were interred inside a small stone church or chapel which predates Lincoln Castle and was previously unknown,"...

A limestone sarcophagus thought to date to A.D. 900 has been discovered in a Saxon churchyard at Lincoln Castle. At this time, archaeologists can see the side of the coffin; its lid is still covered by approximately nine feet of earth. Endoscopy has shown that the person had been buried with gold objects. “We think it’s somebody terribly important, possibly a bishop or a Saxon king,” said spokesperson Mary Powell. Archaeologists are very concerned that opening the rare Saxon sarcophagus could cause its contents to disintegrate. They are hoping that the lid with be engraved with information about the identity...