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Skeleton of cross-dressing Roman eunuch unveiled
The skeleton of a 4th century cross-dressing eunuch has been unveiled in a Roman cemetery in North Yorkshire.
The eunuch, which is adorned with jewellery, is believed to be the first of its kind.
Archaeologists believe the young man's skeleton, discovered near Catterick, was probably that of a "gallus" - a priest who castrated himself in honour of the eastern goddess, Cybele.
The find is described in "Cataractonium: A Roman Town and its Hinterland", a two-volume monograph launched at the Yorkshire Museum in York.
Senior archaeologist Dr Pete Wilson, who edited the book, said: "He is the only man wearing this array of jewellery who has ever been found from a late Roman cemetery in Britain. In life he would have been regarded as a transvestite and was probably a gallus."
He added: "The find demonstrates how cosmopolitan the north of England was."
Dr Wilson said Cybele, a goddess imported from the east in the 3rd century BC, was a Roman state deity worshipped in public festivals.
Her would-be priests, or "galli", castrated themselves on a "Day of Blood" in April, following the example of Cybele's lover Atys, who made himself a eunuch out of remorse for his infidelity.
Special ornamented clamps, one of which was found in the River Thames by London Bridge, were used by the galli in their castration ceremonies. Thereafter the priests would wear jewellery, colourful female robes and turbans or tiaras, and had female hairstyles.
The skeleton found buried in a grave at Bainesse - a farm near Catterick and once an outlying settlement of the Roman town - wore a jet necklace and bracelet, a shale armlet and a bronze anklet. He had two stones placed in his mouth.
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I'm running right out to get my bronze anklet!
Greg
Hi Greg! Bravo, great article and nice avatar I might add. Smiling too, excellent. 
Hugs,Leona