Roman artifacts found in Swedish graves

Archaeologists at the site in Stenungsund, around 30 miles north of Gothenburg, found the ceramic pieces along with some charred bones from two people, which were dated between the years 1 and 300 AD, said Bengt Nordqvist, who is leading the dig for Sweden's National Heritage Board.

He told Sweden's English-language newspaper The Local the finds challenge previous migration theories.

"The discovery shows that contact between Sweden and the Roman Empire was possibly much greater than we used to believe," Nordqvist said.

The excavation was ordered before the town granted permission to turn the land into soccer fields, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International