Archaeologist says the skeleton inside a Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey is likely a medieval abbot, ending a 150-year mystery

Prof Warwick Rodwell, the abbey's consultant archaeologist, names Aelfwig, an abbot who died around 1020, as the most likely occupant. His successor Wulnoth, who died in 1049, is the other contender. The bones were carbon-dated to between 987 and 1052, centuries after the fourth-century coffin was made for a wealthy Briton. The findings appear in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association.

The inscription honours Valerius Amandinus, from his sons Valerius Superventor and Marcellus.

Monks re-carved the lid with a large Anglo-Saxon cross, an early case of recycling.

The man suffered from gout, osteoarthritis and two healed rib injuries.