A retired couple in Northumberland have discovered that an unregarded planter in their garden is in fact a Roman sarcophagus dating from the first or second century AD. They stand to make £100,000 by selling it at auction. Full story in the Daily Mail here.
FACT: The word ‘sarcophagus’ derives from the ancient Greek word ’sarkophagos’, meaning ‘flesh-eater’. Ancient Greeks believed that the stone consumed the flesh of the occupant.
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Phoebe Hoare
Thursday 31st January 2013 at 8:40 pm
What an amazing object, thank you for this!
Richard
Friday 1st February 2013 at 7:14 am
Lovely. I’m surprised it went unregarded without at least a professional valuation. Even with no inkling it was Roman, it couldn’t be mistaken for a worthless concrete moulding from a garden centre. I think I’d have guessed, wrongly, it was 18th century, and been curious to see if it was worth a few bob.
Jonathan
Sunday 3rd February 2013 at 6:50 pm
Ten grand for a coffin? Those Roman funeral directors could teach even our national chains a £thing or two!
Jonathan
Sunday 3rd February 2013 at 6:55 pm
And I never knew that about ‘sarkophagoses’. Sounds like a business idea to me: ‘Karniveros Koffins, for legal sky burials.’