So who's in da box??

In the ruins of the city of Gabii in Italy,which was a near neighbour of ancient Rome, archaeologists have found a lead coffin weighting 1,000 lbs. Now lead was a valuable commodity in those ancient times when this coffin was buried about 1,000 years ago. So the people who bought it must have been seriously rich!!

It has been constructed from one huge lead sheet which has been folded over and is an inch thick!.

So, who is in the box? Normally Romans of this era around the 2nd, 3rd or 4th century A.D., were buried in wooden coffins. Speculation is rife. It could be a famous Gladiator, a local Ruler, a Church Leader?

The sarcophagus will soon be taken to America where engineers will heat an area and put very small cameras into it to see exactly what it contains.

The site, where it was found, has been going for more than 50 years and is funded by the National Graphical Society.