Ruth is ragingly hungry once again. She has torn open a packet of crisps (plain) and is having to force herself even to put up a pretence of sharing them with Max.'No thanks.' Max waves the crisps away and takes a gulp of beer. In celebration, Ruth puts four into her mouth.'I'd like you to have another look at the bones when we've excavated them,' says Max. 'Is that possible?''Of course,' says Ruth, blushing and crunching.'After all, that's your area of expertise isn't it?'Ruth agrees that it is, trying to sound like an expert and less like a contestant in a crisp-eating challenge.'I'd like to know how and why the body was decapitated,' says Max. 'Whether it was before or after death.''Do you think it could be evidence of a head cult?' asks Ruth.'It's possible. Head cults are more Celtic than Roman but there have been Roman examples. Of course, heads were often preserved as holy relics in medieval times. Think of St Hugh of Lincoln. They cut off his head so it could perform miracles on its own.
