ARCHAEOLOGISTS are attempting to piece together facts about the life of a 2nd century Briton after unearthing a skeleton at the site of a former Roman town in North Yorkshire.

A half-tonne, six-foot, lead coffin, containing the skeleton, was discovered at the Isurium Brigantum site, at Aldborough, near Boroughbridge.

The bones and teeth found at the burial site, dating to around the 2nd century, could offer archaeologists clues about everyday life for high status Yorkshire folk almost 2,000 years ago.

Keith Emerick, English Heritage's inspector of ancient monuments, said: "The fact the burial involved an expensive lead coffin signifies the person was perhaps of high status.

"We are keen to see what specialists can tell us about the bones so we can build a picture of this person's life."

After being alerted to the chance find, English Heritage and York Archaeological Trust (YAT) are now working together to unravel the secrets of the skeleton.

It was a major week-long operation to excavate and lift the half-tonne relic from the ground and transport it to a YAT laboratory in York city centre.

Experts have now opened the casket's partially crushed lid to reveal the well-preserved remains of what is most likely a Romano-British adult.

Finds of this kind are very unusual in Yorkshire and across the country only about 300 Roman lead coffins have been unearthed.

Although no burial goods have been found, the chief scientific treasures are the bones themselves, according to Ian Panter, principal conservator with the YAT.

He said: "We have not yet been able to sex or age the remains, but the skeleton is in pretty reasonable condition.

"We also have the teeth, which is very important.

"Thanks to modern technology, we will be able to use these to shed light on the person's childhood diet and determine whether he or she was born locally, or came from further afield.

"I've only ever worked on one other Roman lead coffin burial, and that was from the south of England, 20 years ago, so this really is an exciting find."

Archaeologists are carefully extracting the bones from the coffin and are subjecting them to a detailed analysis.