18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Iron Age and Roman Skeletons Discovered on Alderney

Well-preserved skeletons from the late Iron Age and Roman periods were found in Alderney, one of the channel islands.

The site on Longis Common in Alderney, according to States archaeologist Phil de Jersey, is one of the most exciting archaeological sites in the Channel Islands since the two meters of sand over the graves has helped preserve the bones and prevent the site from being disturbed.

Human bones were discovered during the installation of an electricity cable on Rue des Mielles, near Longis Bay, in 2017. It prompted the Guernsey Museum and the Alderney Society to investigate. Eight of the bones have now been radiocarbon dated, five from the service trench along the Rue des Mielles and three from a paddock field excavation.

They date from about 750BC up to 238AD.

Dr de Jersey said they had expected the bones to be from the late Iron Age, based on the pottery finds, but the surprise was the wide timespan covered.

‘It does imply that the site was used for a long time – hundreds of years,’ he said.

the channel islands
States archaeologist Phil de Jersey, in the straw hat, examines one of the Alderney skeletons.

A settlement from around the same era was excavated up the hill from the site in the 1970s and Dr de Jersey said the inhabitants possibly lived on the hill and buried their dead at its foot. Among the bone finds was a female, who was likely to be from between 590 and 380BC. The iron and bronze torc around her neck corresponds well with these dates.

Another adult female was found, but she was most likely between 170BC and AD90. The pot buried at her head is typical of the late Iron Age, which corresponds to the period between the second century BC and the turn of the millennium.

Dr de Jersey said the date range was very wide and indicated that the burials were over a much larger area than they had expected.

He would like to do a large-scale dig, but the Guernsey archaeology department has a very small budget, and the region poses difficulties. The sand that protects the bones makes drilling down two meters is difficult because the sides of the trenches are impossible to stabilize, necessitating the excavation of huge holes.

Alderney skeletons
Archaeologists already knew that Longis was a Roman burial ground, in 2017 they found human remains, headstones, and tombs from the Roman period. Photo: David Nash

‘You can’t dig small trenches! So logistically it’s a very challenging site to dig. And we just don’t have the resources” said Dr de Jersey.

There is, though, a reason to be optimistic. If a university took on the project it would have students to help with excavating the dig, although travel restrictions due to Covid and the ordinary challenges with getting to Alderney would make it difficult.

An individual in the UK has secured a grant to carry out a ground-penetrating radar scan of the common, which would help determine the scale of the cemetery. Dr de Jersey said they were conscious there are also Second World War graves on the common, but the scan would not disturb them.

With the current travel restrictions, it is not clear when this can take place.

Dr de Jersey said when they finally dig the site, it was important to do it right.

‘I would rather not dig it than dig it badly,’ he said.

‘It can only ever be dug once, as digging is very destructive, so we need to make sure we do a good job of it.’

Fortunately, there is time to ensure it is done right.

Source: Guernsey Press

Cover Photo: David Nash

Related Articles

Thousand-Year-Old Christian Viking-era Graves Found in Sweden

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Seven Christian tombs dating to the Viking Age have been found at Sigtuna. According to archaeologists, the tombs date to...

2,300-Year-Old Gold Ring Reveals Jerusalem’s Hidden Hellenistic Rituals

27 May 2025

27 May 2025

A remarkable gold ring recently uncovered in Jerusalem is offering fresh insight into Hellenistic-era rituals, ancient jewelry traditions, and the...

Gladiators were mostly Vegetarians and they were fatter than you may think

6 August 2023

6 August 2023

What better epitomizes the ideal male physique than the Roman gladiator? Gladiators were the movie stars of the first century,...

Stunning Roman-looking sandal found deep in the snow in the Norwegian mountains

16 April 2022

16 April 2022

Global warming is leading to the retreat of mountain glaciers. Incredibly well preserved and rare artifacts have emerged from melting...

A secret chamber has been found in the famous Gorham Cave Complex

29 September 2021

29 September 2021

A cave chamber sealed off by sand for some 40,000 years has been discovered in Vanguard Cave inside the Gorham’s...

A cave complex with hieroglyphs and Varangian symbols discovered in center of Ukraine

19 November 2022

19 November 2022

An ancient cave complex thought to date from Kievan Rus’ has been discovered in central Kyiv at Voznesensky Uzvoz. Dmytro...

A submerged stone bridge constructed 5600 years ago shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean

31 August 2024

31 August 2024

An interdisciplinary research team, led by University of South Florida (USF) geology Professor Bogdan Onac, has examined an ancient submerged...

Fossil found at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau reveals an owl active during the day 6 million years ago

29 March 2022

29 March 2022

The incredibly well-preserved fossil skeleton of an extinct owl that lived was discovered on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau,...

Romanian Police Find the Stolen Viking Helmet

21 February 2021

21 February 2021

Romanian police specializing in heritage crimes recovered a medieval helmet of “Viking origin” on February 7, which had disappeared a...

New Archaeological Discoveries may Confirm What is Written in the Bible

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

The importance of what is written in the scriptures in the development of archeology is really great. It is possible...

The Big Universe Coming Out from the Dust “in Esna Temple”

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

While the Esna Temple has been waiting to renew and breathe again for a long time, it has recently experienced...

Archaeologists Discovered Submerged Stoa Complex in Ancient Salamis, Greece

27 October 2023

27 October 2023

Archaeologists exploring the east coast of Salamis, the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, discovered a large, long, and...

Oldest US firearm unearthed in Arizona, a 500-year-old bronze cannon linked to Coronado expedition

27 November 2024

27 November 2024

Independent researchers in Arizona have unearthed a bronze cannon linked to the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, and...

‘Proof of biblical kings’, Israel deciphers 8th century BC Hezekiah inscription after a decade of research

17 December 2022

17 December 2022

Israeli archeologists have deciphered an 8th-century BC inscription discovered on a palm-sized stone tablet after a decade of research.  The...

2000-year-old quarry discovered in Jerusalem that could be the source of Second temple stones

5 September 2021

5 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old quarry in Har Hotzvim, now an industrial park in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority said...