Saxon Queen Discovered in Germany 20 January 2010

Saxon queen discovered in Germany 20 January 2010

skeleton aged between 30 and 40 was found, wrapped in silk.

Dr Harald Meller of the Landesmuseum fur Vorgeschichte in Saxony Anhalt, who led the project, said: “We still are not completely certain that this is Eadgyth, although all the scientific evidence points to this interpretation. In the Middle Ages, bones were moved around as relics and this makes definitive identification difficult.”

As part of the research project, some small samples are being brought to the University of The raising of the tomb's lid. Photo by the State Office Bristol for further analysis. for Heritage Management and Archaeology, Saxony- Anhalt The research group at Bristol will be hoping to trace the isotopes in these bones to provide a geographical signature that matches where Eadgyth is likely to have grown up. (PhysOrg.com) -- Remains of one of the oldest members of the English royal family have been Professor Mark Horton of the Department of unearthed at Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany. Archaeology and Anthropology, who is co- The preliminary findings will be announced at a ordinating this side of the research, explained the conference at the University of Bristol today. strategy: “We know that Saxon royalty moved around quite a lot, and we hope to match the Eadgyth, the sister of King Athelstan and the isotope results with known locations around granddaughter of Alfred the Great, was given in Wessex and Mercia, where she could have spent marriage to Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor, in her childhood. If we can prove this truly is Eadgyth, 929. She lived in Saxony and bore Otto at least this will be one of the most exciting historical two children, before her death in 946 at the age of discoveries in recent years.” 36. She was buried in Magdeburg and her tomb was marked in the Cathedral by an elaborate Eadgyth is likely to be the oldest member of the sixteenth-century monument. English royal family whose remains have survived. Her brother, King Athelstan, is generally considered In 2008, as part of a wider research project into to have been the first King of England after he Magdeburg Cathedral, this tomb was investigated. unified the various Saxon and Celtic kingdoms It was known that she was initially buried at the following the battle of Brunanburgh in 937. His Monastery of Mauritius in Magdeburg, and if bones tomb survives in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, but were to be found, they would have had to have is most likely empty. Eadgyth’s sister, Adiva, was been moved to this later tomb; it was, however, also married to an unknown European ruler, but her thought that this tomb was most likely a cenotaph. tomb is not located. Historical chronicles tell that Adiva was also offered to Otto, but that he chose But when the lid was removed, a lead coffin was Eadgyth instead. discovered, bearing Queen Eadgyth’s name and accurately recording the transfer of her remains in The discovery of Eadgyth’s remains illustrates the 1510. Inside the coffin, a nearly complete female close links between European states in the early

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medieval period and how in the formation of both England and Germany intermarriage between the emerging royal houses of Europe was commonplace and has left a lasting legacy in the present royal families of Europe.

Provided by University of Bristol APA citation: Saxon queen discovered in Germany (2010, January 20) retrieved 29 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2010-01-saxon-queen-germany.html

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