Westminster Abbey’s 150-Year-Old Sarcophagus Mystery Solved: Skeleton Identified as 11th-Century Abbot
A 150-year-old mystery regarding a skeleton found in a Roman-era sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey has been resolved. Professor Warwick Rodwell identified the remains as belonging to either Abbot Ælfwig or Abbot Wulfnoth, both of whom served in the 11th century. The discovery, initially made in 1820 but not fully analyzed until 2016, confirms the repurposing of a Roman tomb for a high-ranking medieval religious figure, ending decades of speculation about the occupant's identity.