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Daily Mail Archaeologists unearth body of young girl buried with her hands tied 
She was no more than ten years old. Lying in a shallow grave, her tiny hands bound and with injuries to her head, it seemed she had met a most violent end.But although all the clues point to the cruellest of murders, there is little chance of this 'cold case' ever being solved. The mystery is puzzling not police, but archaeologists, as the gruesome events took place more than 1,800 years ago. The team behind the find are still keen to play detective however, after unearthing the child's skeletal remains in the corner of a barracks room at a Roman fort. Although the wheels of justice have turned far too slowly for this little girl, her death could help unlock ancient secrets. A full examination of the remains is expected to take place within days and the results should be known within a month. The skeleton was found during an excavation at the Vindolanda Roman fort near Bardon Mill in Northumberland. Human burials in built-up areas such as forts and towns were strictly forbidden in Roman times. The dead had to be interred or cremated in cemeteries on the outskirts. Archaeologists believe the child was murdered and then buried in a rush so as not to arouse suspicion. They are uncertain whether the damage to the skull was inflicted at the time of her death or has taken place in the hundreds of years since. At first, archaeologists working at the fort believed they had found the remains of a large dog. But when the entire skeleton was unveiled the grim truth emerged. Dr Trudi Buck, a biological anthropologist from Durham University, identified the remains as those of a young person, possibly a girl. From the body's position in the grave, the hands could have been tied together, she said. 'The investigation so far has been very preliminary. There were no specific signs of damage to the bones that could be seen on first examination. 'The cranium was very broken when it was discovered, but it is difficult to say if this was from any injuries sustained to it, or whether they have occurred over time.' The grave where the girl was found dates back to the mid-third century, when the Fourth Cohort of Gauls formed the garrison at Vindolanda. Dr Andrew Birley, Vindolanda's director of excavations, said: 'All sorts of scenarios are being considered. First and foremost we could be dealing with a slave, not a free person. 'There could have been a dispute between two soldiers, and one of them could have decided to damage the other's property. In Roman times slaves were considered to be property, and it is possible the little girl was harmed to settle a score. 'What I can say for certain is that this was a crime that had to be covered up quickly. 'It would not have been easy for the murderers to carry the body outside of the fort because of check points, and this is why the child was disposed of within its boundaries.' It is not the first evidence of foul play at local excavation sites, which take in ten forts built by Romans. In the 1930s, Dr Birley's grandfather, Eric, found two skeletons under a floor in a house at nearby Housesteads fort, one of whom had a knife blade stuck in the ribs. 'I'm sorry to say that Vindolanda has probably produced another Roman murder victim, from around the AD250s,' he said. 'I shudder to think how this young person met their fate.'
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