Archaeologist says skeleton inside coffin inscribed to Valerius Amandinus is likely to be remains of 11th-century abbot

It has all the ingredients of a chilling mystery: the skeleton of an unknown man discovered within a Roman sarcophagus unearthed in the grounds of Westminster Abbey.

Now an expert has said he has solved the longstanding “who-is-it”, suggesting the remains belonged to a medieval abbot.