It all began in Southwark.

The remarkable discovery of a stone sarcophagus in Lant Street, Southwark last year spurred the Museum of London to collate forty years of work into one exhibition. How did Roman London commemorate death and what can we learn from what they’ve left behind?

Exhibition curators Jackie Kiely, Rebecca Redfern and Meriel Jeater have put together a collection that looks at the Roman way of death and Britain’s place on the edge of the Roman Empire.

A Jet Medusa Pendant found in the burial of a woman from Hooper Street, Tower Hamlets. Jet was frequently used as a material for burial goods; It was thought to have magical properties and protected the dead as they journeyed to the afterlife. © Museum of London, 2018.

The sarcophagus was the starting point in demystifying the extraordinary life of its occupant. The lid was slightly ajar and was probably grave-robbed…