Druid Grave Found

A grave site found near what is now Colchester, England, may be the first Druid burial place ever found by archeologists. Dated to between 40 and 60 A.D., the find yielded cremated human remains, a board game, medical tools, religious implements and evidence of a psychedelic drink used for divination.

Druids were the priestly and intellectual class of Celtic Europe, whose important role led to their eventual extermination by the Romans. The Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus led a successful attack on the Druidical "headquarters" on the island of Mona (today called Anglesey), cutting down the sacred oaken groves where the Druids worshipped. The word Druid comes from the Celtic word for "oak".

The chambered Druid grave is part of a set of five discovered in a gravel quarry. Dating from the early Roman occupation period.