The rare discovery of a Roman stone coffin will feature in a BBC documentary.
An enormous hand-carved stone coffin which had laid undisturbed since its burial more than 1,500 years ago has been discovered near the A47 at Wansford.
A team of archaeologists have removed the artefact, which weighed in at 750kg – comparable to an adult male polar bear.
Work to exhume the sarcophagus which was discovered between Wansford and Sutton
The discovery of the small Roman roadside cemetery was made during National Highways’ work to upgrade a 1.6-mile section of the A47 from the A1 at Wansford to the Sutton roundabout from a single to dual carriageway.
Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the east region, said: “While our main focus has been on building a road to improve journeys for road users, it’s been extremely satisfying to play a part in uncovering such an unusual archaeological find.
“The coffin was found at what was once a Roman road linking ancient Britain during our work to upgrade a section of the A47 in Cambridgeshire to dual carriageway.
The Roman stone coffin under excavation
The work to exhume the A47 sarcophagus will feature in an episode of BBC’s Digging for Britain, which will be broadcast at 8pm tomorrow (Tuesday, January 7) on BBC2.
Project manager David Harrison from Headland Archaeology, which carried out the excavation, said: “The coffin is a fascinating discovery which is quite unique to this region.
“Its careful excavation and recording, both in the field and the laboratory, allows us to continue to learn how our Roman ancestors lived and died.”