History Cold Case UK

S02:E04 - The Woman and Three Babies

In the sleepy commuter town of Baldock in Hertfordshire the discovery of a wonderfully intact skeleton of a woman dating from early Roman times – buried with the tiny skeletons of three babies – rocked the scientific world as it’s an archaeological first. Buried on the outskirts of a cemetery in what at first appears to be an unceremonious burial, she cuts a tragic picture. Did she die in childbirth? Or are these not her babies? And why was she buried with apparent disregard for the proper burial practices of the day? For the History Cold Case team it’s a unique opportunity to investigate details about pregnancy and childbirth as it was 2000 years ago in a Roman-British settlement – and what they discover is shocking. The way she was buried with the babies also tantalizing opens up the possibility that she is the mother of triplets – which would make this the earliest recorded case of a multiple pregnancy ever known. They need to find out whether she is a Roman settler or in fact a local Brit and to forensically unpack the events which led to her death if they are to have a hope of bringing the identity of this woman out from the shadows.