GRAVE DISCOVERY

Ancient Hermetically Sealed Sarcophagus Opened After 1,700 Years

Researchers said it offered a unique insight into the time the woman lived in.

Archaeologists have opened the hermetically sealed sarcophagus of a young Roman woman that was untouched since she was buried. The intact tomb was found underneath the capital of Hungary, Budapest, in the Óbuda district. It had not been looted, and the skeleton inside was entirely uninterfered with, offering researchers a valuable insight into life 1,700 years ago. The New York Post reports that “glass vessels, bronze figures and 140 coins,” were found inside. The find was made by researchers from the Budapest History Museum in a quarter of the ancient Roman city of Aquincum that had been vacated in the third century. Gabriella Fényes, lead archeologist on the excavation, said, “The peculiarity of the finding is that it was a hermetically sealed sarcophagus. It was not disturbed previously, so it was intact.” The size of the skeleton, along with the items found, suggests it was a young woman inside the sarcophagus. They included the “items given to the deceased by her relatives for her eternal journey,” Fényes said. “The deceased was buried very carefully by her relatives. They must have really loved who they buried here.”