Archaeologists’ grim discovery of two bodies buried beneath ancient UK pub

Almost 2,000 years ago, the mighty embarked on its conquest of Britain, leaving an indelible mark on the island’s history.

brought with them a wealth of new influences — from exotic foods and cultures to new religions, music, and ways of life, all of which reshaped Britain in ways never seen before.

It is, however, important to note that the Romans were far from peaceful conquerors. Their invasion was marked by brutality, as they demolished native Britons’ settlements and nearly wiped out the Celtic tribes.

The Romans used their advanced construction techniques to carve up the land, blocking off vast areas and creating taxation systems that extracted resources from local communities that had previously roamed the island freely.

One of the most iconic remnants of Roman occupation is , a monumental structure that has stood the test of time.

Stretching 73 miles from in the east to the Solway Firth in the west, the wall marked the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. At its peak, the Empire stretched from the southern tip of Britain to Egypt, and even included parts of Syria and briefly Iran.

Hadrian’s Wall was commissioned by Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD and has since become a subject of much fascination. In the History Hit documentary, , archaeologist Frances McIntosh, a key figure in the wall’s preservation through English Heritage, explored its mysteries, revealing secrets that continue to intrigue modern historians.

In the mid-20th century, archaeologists working along the southern edge of the wall uncovered some unusual and significant ruins. Located outside the Roman fort, where soldiers and generals would have been, these remains were linked to a civilian settlement. Among the findings were the bodies of two individuals buried beneath the floorboards of one building.

Ms McIntosh described the discovery: “These buildings were located just outside the fort, in prime locations, possibly used as shops or taverns.

During excavations in the 1950s and 60s, two bodies were found underneath the floorboards. One was a man and the other, a woman. The man had a dagger wound through his back or ribs. It became known as the ‘murder house.’ “Was it a bar brawl gone wrong?” said Ms McIntosh. “We can only speculate.”

Over the years, numerous bodies have been discovered around the wall, shedding light on the area’s complex history. In 2010, a remarkable find was made at the nearby Vindolanda Roman fort: the skeleton of a child, dated to be around 1,800 years old, found in a shallow pit inside a barrack room.

This discovery was unusual because Romans typically buried their dead away from populated areas, either cremating the bodies or placing them outside settlements. The positioning of the skeleton suggested the child’s hands may have been tied, leading researchers to conclude that the child’s death was not an ordinary burial.

Further tests revealed that the child was not from the local area but rather from the Mediterranean, sparking speculation that the child could have been a slave or the offspring of a Roman soldier stationed at Hadrian’s Wall.

If this theory is correct, it would support the idea that Roman soldiers brought their families with them to the remote frontier of , further highlighting the human side of the Empire’s expansion.

In 2012, Dr. Trudi Buck, a biological anthropologist from Durham University, estimated that the child had been around 10 years old at the time of death. This discovery adds yet another layer to the rich and often mysterious history of Hadrian’s Wall, a place where the echoes of the past continue to resonate through every stone.