Archaeologists at the Budapest History Museum discovered the limestone sarcophagus during a large-scale excavation in the city’s northern district of Óbuda, which was once part of Aquincum, a bustling Roman settlement on the Danube border.
Untouched by looters and sealed for centuries, the coffin was found with its stone lid still secured by metal clamps and molten lead. When researchers carefully lifted the lid, they found a complete skeleton surrounded by dozens of artifacts.
Gabriela Feniz, lead archaeologist on the excavation, said, “The peculiarity of the discovery is that it was a hermetically sealed coffin. It had not been disturbed before, so it was intact.”
The sarcophagus lay among the ruins of abandoned houses in a quarter of Aquincum that was evacuated in the 3rd century and later repurposed as a burial ground. Nearby, researchers discovered a Roman aqueduct and eight simple tombs, but none came close to the richness or pristine condition of the sealed tomb.
In keeping with Roman funerary customs, the coffin contained a range of objects: two completely intact glass vessels, bronze figures and 140 coins. A bone hair pin, a piece of amber jewelery and traces of gold-threaded cloth, along with the shape of the skeleton, point to the grave of a young woman.
These objects, Fenice said, were “objects given to the deceased by his relatives for his eternal journey.”
“The deceased was buried with great care by her relatives. They must have really loved the person they buried here,” he said.
During Roman times, much of what is now Hungary constituted the province of Pannonia, which was bordered by the right bank of the Danube River, less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the site. A short distance away stood a military camp guarding the empire’s border, and the newly found structures are thought to have been part of the civilian settlement that developed around it.
Anthropologists will now examine the young woman’s remains, a process expected to reveal more about her age, health and origins. But even now, the condition of the tomb and the abundance of artifacts provide strong clues.
The coffin and its contents “definitely make it different”, said Gergely Kostyal, a Roman-period expert and co-leader of the project. “This probably means that the deceased was affluent or of high social status.”
“It’s really rare to find a coffin like this that is untouched and has never been used before, as it was common to reuse earlier coffins in the fourth century,” he said. “It is quite clear that this coffin was specially made for the deceased.”
Excavators also removed a layer of soil about 4 centimeters (1.5 in) thick from inside the coffin, with Fenice hoping it might contain more treasure.
He said, “I doubt that we may find jewelry. We did not find any earrings or other jewelry from the woman, so I hope that these small objects will come up during sifting of the soil.”
For Feniz, the discovery of the Roman coffin is not only of scientific importance, but also an emotionally resonant insight into the devotion displayed by people in ancient times.
“I was so touched by the expressions of care and love that we got a glimpse of,” she said. “Even now, I shudder to think how painful it must have been for people at that time to bury this young woman.”
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