The remains of one of an early queen and member of the English royal family are believed to have been unearthed in Germany, archaeological experts said Wednesday.
A near-complete skeleton discovered wrapped in silk in a tomb in Magdeburg Cathedral in northern Germany is thought to be that of Eadgyth, granddaughter of Alfred the Great, said the British and German experts.
The bones were found during a wider research project at the German cathedral in 2008, said Professor Mark Horton of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol University, southwest England.
"It was known that she was initially buried at the Monastery of Mauritius in Magdeburg, and if bones were to be found, they would have had to have been moved to this later tomb.
"It was, however, thought that this tomb was most likely a cenotaph," he said in a statement, revealing details of the find.
"But when the lid was removed, a lead coffin was discovered, bearing Queen Eadgyth?s name and accurately recording the transfer of her remains in 1510. Inside the coffin, a nearly complete female skeleton aged between 30 and 40 was found, wrapped in silk."
Eadgyth was the sister of King Athelstan and the granddaughter of Alfred the Great. She was given in marriage to Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 929, and bore three children before her death in 946 at the age of 36.
If confirmed as her, the Magdeburg find would be the oldest member of the English royal family whose remains have survived.
Her brother, King Athelstan, is generally considered to have been the first King of England after he unified the various Saxon and Celtic kingdoms following the battle of Brunanburgh in 937.
Harald Meller of the Landesmuseum fur Vorgeschichte in Saxony Anhalt, 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," he added, quoted by Bristol University.
Now, some small samples are being brought to the University of Bristol for further analysis to try to confirm the identification.
"If we can prove this truly is Eadgyth, this will be one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years," said Horton.
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
