Archaeologists at the National History and Archaeology Museum in Constanta believe a little boy lies in a sealed sarcophagus found at the northern edge of the Tomis necropolis. How old the child was, and whether it was a boy, has not yet been established, and early estimates differ.
The sarcophagus turned up during preventive excavations in the Flamanda district, about 1.5km from the ancient city and next to a road that linked Tomis with Histria. Constantin Bajenaru and Catalin Nopcea spotted it on 22 October 2026. The stone lid was held by two lead clamps, and the joint was filled with mortar. The box is just over a metre long.
The whole sarcophagus was moved to the museum and opened on 27 October. A press conference followed on 28 October. One account says the grave was found on 27 October, but the others say it was found on 22 October and opened on 27 October.
Coffin, toys and two bullae
The wooden coffin is well preserved, with dovetail joints at the corners. The child was wrapped in a shroud, and some of the hair survives. Wreaths of flowers and leaves, folded into small bundles, lie by the body. The plants have not yet been identified. A coin and two small bronze bracelets lie next to the body, not on the wrists.
The two clay toys still show traces of paint. The rooster has painted eyes and eyebrows, and there are still pebbles inside it, so it rattles, archaeologist Ana Hamat said. The second toy is a horse on wheels, although museum director Delia Roxana Cornea calls it a cart. One of the wheels has come off.
The two bullae are round amulets worn around the neck. The bulla was a Roman mark of freeborn children, worn against curses and the evil eye. Boys took it off when they put on the toga of adulthood. That is why the museum links the find with a boy.
The northernmost edge of the necropolis
The Romans buried their dead outside the city. This grave lies at the northernmost known edge of the necropolis, next to the road to the Danube delta. Tomis was in the province of Lower Moesia.
Bajenaru says there are other graves nearby, as well as a ruined brick tomb, so he suggests the plot belonged to a prominent family. He admits this is a guess. The quality of the coffin and the objects also points to a wealthy family, but the child's identity is unknown.
Estimates of two to five years
The size of the sarcophagus suggests an age of about four to five years. Hamat said the rattle points to a younger child, and early estimates say two to four years. The idea that it was a boy rests on the bullae and the toys and has not been confirmed by science. Some accounts of the find give neither age nor sex. The cause of death is unknown.
Bajenaru also raised another possibility: that resin may have helped preserve the body in a way similar to mummification. This has not been tested. The date of the grave is so far only preliminary, the 2nd or 3rd century AD.
The museum will study the teeth and bones, try DNA tests and analyse the flowers, which may show in which season the burial took place.