Londres (G-B): Have the remains of Boudicca's rebels been uncovered by Crossrail project?
Excavations uncover ritual burial of human bones from 2,000 years ago
Sam Tonkin
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Seven human skulls, nearly 2,000 years old, have so far been uncovered
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It is thought they were discarded as part of ritual burial on River Walbrook
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Sparked the theory the skulls could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels
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Excavation of 3,000 skeletons at new Liverpool Street site is now complete
Archaeologists have uncovered a ritual burial of 2,000-year-old human skulls - sparking the theory they could be the remains of Boudicca's rebels - as the London Crossrail excavations continue.
The latest discovery of cremated human bones packed neatly into a cooking pot and set off at the side of the historic River Walbrook, in London, has experts questioning whether they were part of a gruesome ceremony.
When about 20 skulls were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary in 2013 it had been thought that they had got there down stream after being eroded out of a Roman cemetery to the north - but new evidence suggests otherwise.
New find: Around seven human skulls (pictured) dating back nearly 2,000 years have so far been found as part of the latest discovery by archaeologists at the London Crossrail site near Liverpool Street station
A piece of Roman figurative pottery (right) was also dug up during searches of the site
A cross-section of the Roman roadside ditch uncovered at Liverpool Street station
The estimated age of the human remains and the way they appear to have been disposed of has led to the suggestion that the bones could even be Boudicca's rebels.
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels.
A spokesman for London Crossrail confirmed the team was working up a number of theories.
He said: 'We don't have any answers yet but we are looking into it.'
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum, now Colchester, London, and Verulamium, now St Albans, being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
A spokesman for London Crossrail confirmed the team was working up a number of theories for the latest finds, which included cremated human bones packed neatly into a cooking pot
The Crossrail team spokesman said a connection was not currently being made between the skulls from 2,000 years ago and Boudicca's rebels but the possibility has not been ruled out.
Work to excavate 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network, has now been completed.
It took a team of 60 archaeologists four weeks, working six days a week, to remove the remains and record evidence for what may prove to be, in archaeological terms, London's most valuable 16th and 17th Century cemetery site.
Among the skeletons discovered at the burial site - used from 1569 until at least 1738, including the Great Plague in 1665 - were a mother a her child buried side-by-side. They have now been transferred to the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).
Scientific tests are continuing on the cremated remains, with the possibility the grim ritual theory may be confirmed and that most of the seven skulls found so far are heads of executed criminals and rebels
Crossrail workers are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - which was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as patients from Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe.
Workers are now digging through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site. Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September, after which construction will proceed on a new eastern ticket hall.
Speaking last month, Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.