Archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman girl from the 3rd century CE, who was buried in the ancient Viminacium (eastern Serbia). The preserved skeleton belonged to a 3-year-old child.
The body was buried in a lead coffin with many valuable items. A gold medallion was placed on the cage, semiprecious stones were found next to the body, a few coins, gold earrings by her ears and a gold snake-shaped ring on her right hand. The find was in an area where such discoveries are frequent. So far, over 15,000 sarcophagi and coffins from Roman times have been found in Viminacium; and only 30 lead coffins have been recovered so far. Scientists suspect that the buried girl may have come from the Middle East, as this is where the custom of burying the deceased in a lead coffin originated.
The discovery was made during an archaeological campaign aimed at securing the discoveries made so far, due to the intense coal mining in the region.
