Caerleon pipe burial

The Caerleon pipe burial is a Roman grave from the 100s in a cemetery associated with the former Roman legionary fort and town, Isca Augusta, in what is now Caerleon, Wales, United Kingdom.Roberts (2023) pp. 7–8.  The main spot, including its big amphitheatre, was explored in the early 1900s, largely by the archaeologist Tessa Wheeler, but its surrounding cemeteries were mainly known only through casual finds.

In 1927 construction work on a spot across the River Usk from the ancient fort led to the discovery of a grave containing a tomb lined with stone. Within the tomb was a lead canister containing cremated bone fragments and a piece of linen with signs of frankincense. Also there was a  broken lead pipe which would have, when the grave was first made, gone above ground. This type of burial is rare in Britain and was investigated at the time of its discovery by the archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler. He consulted the anatomy expert Arthur alt=lead cylinder in rectangular stone grave|thumb|The canister in the National Roman Legion Museum at Caerleon, Wales. The broken pipe is on top.Keith, who found that the bone  parts belonged to one adult, findings confirmed at when Alice Roberts looked at it again in 2001.Wheeler (1929) pp. 1–2.Roberts (2023) pp. 23–26.

Tombs with lead or earthenware pipes going straight up and down are found throughout the Roman Empire, and graves featuring other ways to partially reach the grave from the surface also appear widely. These features are believed to have helped sacrifices and other offerings to the dead. In particular, pipe burials are thought to have allowed relatives to pour blood or wine into the container to feed the soul of the deceased.

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