An archaeological mystery in a half-ton lead coffin

An archaeological mystery in a half-ton lead coffin

www.ns.umich.edu

Ann Arbor, Mich. - In the ruins of a city that was once Rome's neighbor, Archaeologists last summer found a 1000-pound lead coffin.

Who or what is inside is still a mystery said Nicola Terrenato, the University of Michigan professor of classical studies who leads the project - The largest American dig in Italy in the past 50 years.

(visit the link for the full news article)

We're very excited about this find [...] Romans as a rule were not buried in coffins to begin with and when they did use coffins, they were mostly wooden. There are only a handful of other examples from Italy of lead coffins from this age - the second, third or fourth century A.D. We know of virtually no others in this region [...] A thousand pounds of metal is an enormous amount of wealth in this era. To waste so much of it in a burial is pretty unusual.

Absolutely stunning and incredible! It's things like this that make me wish I had pursued Archaeology in University, discoveries like this are a once in a lifetime thing! Who knows who is buried inside?

www.ns.umich.edu
(visit the link for the full news article)

Don't open it!

A shoggoth might be inside.

That or Caligula's horse.

Either way, its apocalyptic doom.

Is Geraldo Riveria going to be there on the opening??

LOL isnt the pope always buried in a casket than placed in a huge lead coffin? Me thinks it also gets a death head symbol on it. en.wikipedia.org... go to the bottom of the page and see how the casket is interned. This may be a old pontiff casket or copy type casket.

[edit on 30-3-2010 by Barkster]

Hopefully when they open it there is no plague that gets released into the world. Maybe the ancients put the last "case" in there and sealed it, figuring that no one would ever be dumb enough to open it. Perhaps it is our Pandora's Box.

reply to post by MotherofBlessings


Sounds like the opening to a great thriller. Lets hope your wrong

They should also test it for radiation. That would explain why whatever it is has been encased in lead.

Originally posted by MotherofBlessings
Hopefully when they open it there is no plague that gets released into the world. Maybe the ancients put the last "case" in there and sealed it, figuring that no one would ever be dumb enough to open it. Perhaps it is our Pandora's Box.

Took the words right out of my mouth ... maybe it is sealed in lead for a good reason ... and 'inch' thick lead at that !

Woody

Two words: Zombie Apocalypse.
Three more words: Don't open it.

Originally posted by this_is_who_we_are
Two words: Zombie Apocalypse.
Three more words: Don't open it.

I concur. It could result in a plague of - wait for it:


Biblical Proportions.


Sorry, too good to pass up.


On a darker note, I don't think it should be opened in haste, or at all for that matter. There's probably a good reason it's in a half ton of lead, and it screams STFA!

reply to post by Cynic


Or... could it be Satan!?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/116e256f89fd.jpg[/atsimg]

John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness" revisited...

reply to post by Barkster


I'm sure Dan Brown is hovering close by with his notebook at the ready. I can see the title now:

'Beyond the Lead Casket of Demons and Angel Illuminati!'

Zindo

[edit on 3/30/2010 by ZindoDoone]

There's actually been quite a few lead coffins found throughout history. As mentioned in the OP there have even been a few found in Italy in the same period. It is almost certainly an incredibly wealthy person, and the researchers will probably be able to identify who it was.


I don't think you have to worry about it being a plague, or disease of some kind. Back in the day, a raging fire was considered (rightfully so) more than enough to kill any diseased flesh.

This story really intrigues me. While I don't believe that lead was used to keep Superman from being able to use his Xray vision on what is inside, it does beg the question of what could be inside that someone thought encasing it in lead would be the thing to do with a metal that at the time was expensive to acquire let alone form into a coffin.

While the comment about it resembling the Popes coffin still does not explain why the lead? If anyone can shed light on why lead is being used by the Popes then it might help to understand why someone else decided to do something that the rich and famous do when they finally get laid to rest.

One of the posting indicated that there might be some evil demon or spirit inside and while that too is not too far outside the realm of possibilities, more investigation and research is required to fully explain why lead in the first place. If there is a demon or encased Nephilim Spirit, I have no doubt that they have already released him because if I know anything about scientist, is that they cant keep their hands off of anything until it's too late.

Does the lead have anything to do with some religious or esoteric purpose? These are the questions that I wish had been covered. Nonetheless, it still is an intriguing subject matter that I would like to know more about from an academic stand point.

Thanks for the posting.