Archeologists Stunned After Full Skeleton of Crucifixion Victim Uncovered in U.K.

In 2016, Albion 🏺Archaeology began assessing an area in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, ahead of a proposed housing tract being built. They uncovered a sizeable Roman settlement, previously unknown, that seemed to suggest it had covered quite a large area.

In 2017, they started to assess a nearby area for another housing development and found more of what appeared to be the same large, previously unknown settlement.

There was pottery. There were many animal bones suggesting particular trades and practices. There were buildings. There were cemeteries — but perhaps most fascinating of all, there was what appeared to be very rare evidence for a style of crucifixion that uses nails. (Many times, victims were tied rather than nailed to a cross.)

According to the British Archaeology Magazine, this is only the fourth find that suggests this particular kind of crucifixion, and it’s the first known case in northern Europe.

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One skeleton with a pierced heelbone but no nail present was found in Gavello, Italy. Another skeleton with similar damage was found in Mendes, Egypt.

The only prior known case of likely crucifixion where a nail was still present was found in Giv‘at ha-Mivtar, Jerusalem. The nail in that case was in exactly the same spot as it was in the heel of the skeleton found in Fenstanton.