THE ancient Roman coffin discovered in a Northumberland garden sold yesterday at auction for £40,000.

A European telephone bidder landed the 1st or 2nd century marble sarcophagus which had been predicted to fetch up to £100,000 at the Henry Duke salerooms in Dorchester, Dorset.

Another same-era sarcophagus sold in October fetched a six-figure sum, but last night a spokesman for the auction house said: “The Northumberland one was actually much smaller – we believe it was made for a woman. The one sold in October was double the height of this one and therefore had a grander price.

“But we had put a £30,000 to £50,000 estimate on this one, so the price was bang in the middle and we were, as always, delighted to sell.”

The buyer also has to pay an additional £7,000 “hammer reserve” fee – plus transport costs overseas.

The one-tonne coffin, 6ft 9in long, 24in deep and 16.5in high, was discovered in a private domestic garden near Hadrian’s Wall last autumn.

The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, had read a newspaper report of Duke’s October sale and immediately contacted the saleroom, emailing images of what he had thought was no more than an intricate flower trough inherited with the purchase of his house 30 years ago.

But Duke’s antiques specialist Guy Schwinge took one look and immediately jumped on a flight to Newcastle to see it for himself.

The aristocratic coffin was then transported to Dorset by flat-bed lorry – and is now set for another long journey.

“We cannot reveal details of the buyer,” the spokesman added, “but the buyer is from mainland Europe – though not Italy – and the successful bid was made by telephone.

“As for getting it across to Europe, well, we haven’t come to that yet. But however it’s done, the buyer will have to meet the cost.”

The sarcophagus, known to have been brought to England from Rome in 1902, is engraved with a central panel of the Three Graces.

It also features strigilated panels, torch-bearing putti and mythical creature carvings.

It is believed it could be Hadrianic, for the reign of Emperor Hadrian from AD117 to AD138 was known for its rapid sculptural and architectural development.

An almost identical sarcophagus is kept in the Vatican in Rome and enabled experts to identify the Northumbrian find.