Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of a Roman man at Woodsford, near Dorchester in what has been described as a very unusual grave. The perfectly preserved 2000-year-old skeleton unearthed in a quarry in Dorset had his feet bent backward so as to squeeze him into a stone coffin.

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Experts from the Thames Valley Archaeological Service (TVAS) made the discovery at a site where they have been carrying out excavations for several years now

The limestone sarcophagus the body was buried in was typically found in ancient civilizations. It was found in a 1.80m (5ft 11in)-long, 0.55m (1ft 10in)-wide and 0.3m (1ft)-deep grave. This type of grave if considered to be very expensive and only made for rich people.

Dr. Steve Ford, one of the archaeologists involved in the discovery, explained that "In the Roman period, burial in a sarcophagus was moderately common in Italy but very unusual in Britain, where even wooden coffins seem to have been rare."

Being a very luxurious item, coffins of the kind are a rarity, with only about a dozen unearthed at Dorset to date. Due to this, the excavation holds national significance.

Experts have tried to discern why the dead man had his feet turned backward. There is a theory that the undertakers made the sarcophagus too small for him and then covered up their costly blunder by bending his feet backward so as to fit his corpse in the coffin. It is also possible that the sarcophagus was being reused.

The TVAS is conducting a series of tests to learn how the Roman man buried in the sarcophagus died. Experts pointed out that the man may have died in his 20s or 30s as an initial examination of his bones revealed that he was in good health with no signs of disease or abnormality.

It seems that the Roman man was buried with 11 others in a small graveyard. But there is little left of their remains after 2,000 years. His is the only skeleton to have survived because the stone sarcophagus preserved the bones very well.