Taras66Una macabra scoperta fatta di recente in Inghilterra
Un caso di “Archeologia criminale?”
Il giornale 4HourMusem dell’11 agosto 2006, ha riportato con molti dettagli una sconvolgente scoperta fatta nella cittadina di Sedgeford, nei pressi di Norfolk. Durante lavori scavi di un antico forno romano del IV secolo d. C., rimasto sepolto per secoli dal crollo del soffitto, è stato rinvenuto il corpo di un individuo bruciato nel forno stesso per cause imprecisate. Un gioco sleale finito male? Una punizione crudele da parte del proprietario del terreno o da parte dell’esattore delle tasse? Gli esperti ancora non sono in grado di pronunciarsi, perché i resti del malcapitato sono sotto osservazione in un laboratorio.
Quanto all’ipotesi della punizione, si tratterebbe di un caso molto raro in ambiente romano, ma non da escludere in assoluto. L’altra ipotesi, invece, quella del gioco finito male, potrebbe essere plausibile, ma tuttavia da accertarsi con molta cautela, data l’epoca del forno che insiste in un’area un tempo coltivata a frumento e granaglie. Pertanto il forno poteva anche servire da essiccatoio per le granaglie da esportare, depositate in un vicino magazzino.
Le foto allegate sono comunque abbastanza eloquenti. L’individuo era stato gettato di proposito e tenuto nascosto nell’interno del forno, da una o più persone, probabilmente sicure dell’impunità.
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The skeleton in situ. © Naomi Payne |
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Archaeologists have found some unusual burnt remains in a Roman corn-drying oven at Sedgeford in Norfolk: human remains. |
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The mysterious burnt body was discovered during work at the Roman agricultural processing plant, being carried out as part of the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Project. Foul play seems highly likely. The possible Roman murder victim was never found at the time. When the plant fell out of use, the roof of the oven collapsed and the site was covered over, leaving the crime undetected for more than 1,500 years. The oven was last used in the 4th century AD, when grain was brought to Sedgeford to be dried and stored before export. The grain was probably grown on an industrial scale at a large villa estate and stored in large barns. Corn-dryers were high-tech systems with ovens, flues and rake-out pits, and quite common in late Roman countryside. Bodies in corn ovens are far less common. |
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The body must have been burnt in the oven. © Naomi Payne |  |
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“A discovery like this is very rare,” said project director and Roman expert Dr Neil Faulkner, “but such things are not completely unknown. Bodies have occasionally been dropped down wells, hidden in central-heating ducts, or dumped in roadside ditches.” “The body in the Sedgeford corn-drying oven seems to be another example. Presumably they represent a breakdown of the old Roman order.” |
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The skeleton will be lifted and studied by human remains specialists, who will attempt to establish the person’s age, sex, and perhaps the cause of death. Bone samples will be sent for radiocarbon dating. “Who was this person?” asked Dr Faulkner. “We can only speculate. Perhaps a tax collector or the landlord’s bailiff – a hate figure of the old regime. Or maybe this was just a casual crime, an old score settled, in a world where the chances of getting caught were less.” |
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