LINCOLN, ENGLAND—The excavation season at Lincoln Castle is closing as archaeologists make plans to lift a sarcophagus thought to contain the remains of a Saxon king or a bishop out of the earth. The grave was discovered alongside the remains of an unknown church thought to be at least 1,000 years old. “Logistically it’s quite a difficult job because the trench is deep and the sarcophagus obviously weighs a lot,” said archaeologist Cecily Spall. The area where the sarcophagus and other skeletons were unearthed will serve as a new exhibition space to house Lincoln’s copy of the Magna Carta.
Lincoln Castle Sarcophagus Will Be Moved
News August 26, 2013
Recommended Articles
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
Features November/December 2024
The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu
Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Egyptian Crocodile Hunt
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Monuments to Youth
-
Features July/August 2013
The First Vikings
Two remarkable ships may show that the Viking storm was brewing long before their assault on England and the continent
Courtesy Liina Maldre, University of Tallinn -
Features July/August 2013
Miniature Pyramids of Sudan
Archaeologists excavating on the banks of the Nile have uncovered a necropolis where hundreds of small pyramids once stood
(Courtesy Vincent Francigny/SEDAU) -
Letter from China July/August 2013
Tomb Raider Chronicles
Looting reaches across the centuries—and modern China’s economic strata
(Courtesy Lauren Hilgers, Photo: Anonymous) -
Artifacts July/August 2013
Ancient Egyptian Sundial
A 13th-century limestone sundial is one of the earliest timekeeping devices discovered in Egypt
(© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY)