- The skeleton of a ‘rich’ woman was found without her facial bones
- German archaeologists are trying to find out how the couple died
- They were found in a former royal palace in the German state of Saxony
Archaeologists have found a woman buried next to her husband more than 1,000 years ago with her head hollowed out.
The female skeleton, who stood just over six feet tall, was found lying on her back next to her husband’s skeleton, with her facial bones missing.
His skeleton, which was slightly larger, still had identifiable facial bones.
Archaeologists are still trying to find out exactly what happened to the long-dead couple, who were found in the former royal palace Helfta in Eisleben, in the German state of Saxony.
It is currently unknown whether they died together or separately, or why the woman’s facial bones are missing.
It is believed that the couple were wealthy individuals when they were alive
The female skeleton, who stood just over six feet tall, was found lying on her back next to her husband’s skeleton, with her facial bones missing
It is currently unknown how the couple died, or why the woman’s facial bones are missing
It is believed that the couple was extremely wealthy when they were alive.
Archaeologists told the German newspaper Bild that the husband was probably some kind of dignitary.
‘They found with him, among other things, a knife, a belt set and the fittings of a so-called official staff, such as those carried by generals. This is considered an outfit of a dignitary,” says archaeologist Felix Biermann from the State Office for Monument Conservation and Archeology of Saxony-Anhalt.
But the scientific team said the woman was unusually buried without belongings.
Biermann said she may have deliberately not wanted to be buried with belongings.
‘The fact that there was nothing with her is very unusual. Maybe she was already Christian, but the man was even more traditional. In Christianity these kinds of additions were avoided.’
The couple’s bones are now being examined in a laboratory to determine how they died.
In 2020, German researchers found the 4,500-year-old remains of a woman buried in a simple but ‘lovingly’ made grave.
The discovery was made by Philipp Roskoschinski and a team of archaeologists from the Archaeros company during an excavation in Uckermark, a rural province about 90 kilometers northeast of Berlin.
Although the grave itself was modest, the posture and position of the woman indicate a possible connection with other ancient burial practices found as far away as Scotland.