Iron Age Celtic Woman Wearing Fancy Clothes Buried in This 'Tree Coffin' in Switzerland
EUROPE, SWITZERLAND, WORLD

Iron Age Celtic Woman Wearing Fancy Clothes Buried in This ‘Tree Coffin’ in Switzerland

Iron Age Celtic Woman Wearing Fancy Clothes Buried in This ‘Tree Coffin’ in Switzerland

THE ANCIENT corpse of a woman buried in a hollowed-out tree has been found in Switzerland.

It’s believed the woman, who died 2,200 years ago, commanded great respect in her tribe, as she was buried in fine clothes and jewellery.

The ancient corpse of a woman buried in a hollowed out tree in Zurich, Switzerland. Pictured are parts of her remains including her skull (top), as well as her jewellery (blue, bottom)Credit: Zurich archaeology department

Scientists say the woman was Celtic. The Iron Age Celts are known to have buried members of their tribe in “tree coffins” buried deep underground.

The woman’s remains were found in the city of Zurich in 2017, according to Live Science.

An analysis carried out by the city’s archaeology department shows she was around 40 years old when she died in 200 BC.

Her bones suggest she did little manual labour during her lifetime, suggesting she was someone of importance.

Iron Age Celtic Woman Wearing Fancy Clothes Buried in This 'Tree Coffin' in Switzerland
Artist’s impression of the woman in her coffin. The coffin was made out of a hollowed tree trunkCredit: Zurich archaeology department
And here’s how they found itCredit: Zurich archaeology department

“A specialist determined the order of the layers of clothing on the basis of the textile, fur and leather scraps preserved in the grave,” a statement said.

“So the woman wore probably a dress made of fine sheep’s wool, about another woolen cloth and a coat of sheepskin.”

Her jewellery consisted of bronze bracelets, a delicate bronze belt and a stunning necklace strung with amber and glass beads.

And of particular interest to scientists was the clasp on the woman’s necklace.

Both ends of the bling had a clip known as a brooch that allowed the woman to string blue and yellow beads onto it.

Jewellery buried with the womanCredit: Zurich archaeology department
A necklace found in the coffinCredit: Zurich archaeology department

It’s been proposed the woman may have known a Celtic man who was buried about 260 feet from her grave.

He was found buried with a sword, shield and lance. The pair were buried in the same decade.

The Celts are most commonly associated with Britain, but actually stretched as far as modern day Turkey.

They were renowned for being fierce fighters – the conquering Romans built Hadrian’s Wall to protect themselves from the Celts who had fled north.