Mystery Skeleton in Westminster Abbey Solved, Identified as Medieval Monk

The identity of a skeleton discovered in a Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey in 1869 has likely been resolved, with experts suggesting the remains belong to a high-ranking medieval monk. Initially, an inscription on the tomb indicated it held the remains of Valerius Amandinus, a man believed to have lived in London between 300 and 400 AD. However, a Latin cross on the sarcophagus lid, dating to the 10th or 11th century, suggested a later occupant.

Archaeologists, led by Professor Warwick Rodwell, Consultant Archaeologist at Westminster Abbey, have conducted extensive analyses that point to two potential individuals: Aelfwig, a monk who served as Abbot at Westminster Abbey around 1020, or his successor Wulnoth, who died in 1049. The skeleton belongs to a man who was approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and died between the ages of 35 and 49. Professor Rodwell noted that either monk would fit these parameters, assuming they were in their early twenties upon appointment and around fifty at their death. The fact that Aelfwig was already a monk at Westminster might lend more weight to his identification.

The sarcophagus itself has a complex history. It was initially discovered in 1820 when workmen accidentally damaged its lid. The damage was repaired, and the coffin was officially "discovered" in 1869. Researchers believe the original wooden coffin, now decayed, was placed inside the stone sarcophagus, a practice that could represent an early instance of "recycling" burial containers. The lid was subsequently re-carved with a large Latin cross. The presence of lime residue at the site of where a wooden coffin would have been further supports this theory.

The sarcophagus is currently on public display in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. The abbey is the final resting place for many notable figures, including scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, and mathematicians and physicists like Michael Faraday and James Clark Maxwell, although some are memorialized rather than interred on site.