Archaeologists unearth ancient ‘flatpack’ bed used by Romans in Britain

A ROMAN flat-pack bed has been unearthed 20 feet below the streets of London.

The funerary bed — the first found in Britain — would have carried an important person to their burial site.

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Made out of high-quality oak, it has carved feet and joints fixed with wooden pegs.

It was dismantled and put in the grave of a man in his late 20s to early 30s — then eventually preserved by mud from the underground River Fleet.

Michael Marshall, of Museum of London Archaeology, said: “It’s been quite carefully taken apart and stashed, almost like flat-pack furniture for the next life.”

Five oak coffins dating back to AD  43 to 410 were with it.

The area near Holborn Viaduct, in central London, is being excavated for an office complex’s construction.

Skeletal remains, beads and jewellery have also been found.

Mola’s Heather Knight said: “The Romans buried their dead along roads, outside urban centres.

“This site would have been located 170m west of the city walls and next to the Roman road of Watling Street.

“However, the levels of preservation we’ve encountered — and particularly such an array of wooden finds — has really blown us away.”

Excavations have also revealed a 16th-century cemetery on the site, which was thought to be relocated to nearby St Sepulchre’s Church.

Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, houses and shops were built on top of the site.