You’re not going to believe what they found in Rome

Good morning from the Forest City — yes, the other London. The one that actually matters to us. Let's get into it. You know, I've been covering this city for a decade, and I thought I'd heard it all. From the never-ending BRT debates to the time that squirrel shut down power on Richmond Row for half a day. But then I read about what archaeologists unearthed in Rome, and suddenly our local drama feels… quaint. They found 1,800-year-old skeletons with iron nails driven into their chests. Not just one, mind you, but *three* of them in this Roman necropolis. Apparently, it was a ritual to keep restless spirits from, you know, being restless. Can you imagine?

I mean, we have our fair share of old cemeteries here in London, especially around the Old East Village and near St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica. And sure, you hear the odd ghost story after a few too many at the Grad Club, but nobody's out there hammering nails into bodies to keep the spirits down. Maybe a stern talking-to and a strong cup of coffee, but that’s about it. It makes you wonder what kind of spiritual problems they were having back then that required *that* kind of intervention. I bet if something like that turned up at the Forks of the Thames, it’d be a front-page story for weeks. We’d probably turn it into a walking tour, knowing us.

Look, I’m just glad our biggest worries are whether the Knights will make it all the way this year, or if we’ll ever get that high-speed rail. Keeping the dead in their place with ironmongery? That's a whole different ballgame.

Brendan Fanshawe-Okafor, MiTL Sports Desk, London.

Keith and the crew dig into wild stuff like this every morning — catch it live at mornings.live.