The Roving Reporter : 1,000 Years After This Dark Age Anglo-Saxon Queen Died, Archaeologists Made An Astounding Discovery

As we saw earlier, the strong assumption was that her tomb would actually be empty. Researchers thought it was likely to be a cenotaph, a memorial with no actual remains inside. The scientists first opened the stone sarcophagus. Inside that was a lead coffin. And the coffin had a Latin inscription on its lid.

The inscription read “Edit Regine Cineres Hic Sarcophagvs Habet…” which translates as “The remains of Queen Eadgyth are in this sarcophagus…” And once the archaeologists opened the lead coffin, much to their amazement, they did indeed find human remains. A remarkably well-preserved shroud of fine silk covered the ancient bones.

In the 2010 Guardian piece, historian and author Michael Wood described what the researchers found in the coffin. “Under the crumpled folds was a small, slim frame, slightly bent at the knees, like a child asleep,” he wrote. But this was not enough to convince scientists that the remains were definitely those of Edith.

A 2010 article on the University of Bristol website quoted Professor Harald Meller, project director from the German Saxony-Anhalt Heritage Management and Archaeology state office. He described the uncertainties that surround archaeological finds such as this. The professor also pointed out the difficulty of being sure of a particular identity for the bones.

Medieval bones were moved frequently and often mixed up. So it required some exceptional science to prove that they are indeed those of [Edith],” the professor said. That meant the next step in matching these bones to the historical figure required some high-tech scientific analysis. First stop for the remains was Germany’s University of Mainz.

In Mainz, Professor Kurt Alt examined the bones and was able to state categorically that they belonged to one female for whom death had come between the ages of 30 and 40. Alt was even able to say that one of the thigh bones offered strong evidence that she often rode horses. That meant the woman was more than likely from the upper echelon of her society. Just like Edith.

It’s worth noting that the skeleton of the woman from the Magdeburg lead coffin was far from complete. The feet, hands and a large portion of the skull were not present. Scientists think the bones perhaps fell foul to a common practise in medieval times ‒ removal and use as relics.

But further analysis of the bones required that the remains travel to England. If the skeleton did indeed belong to Edith, it would be her first visit to the country of her birth for more than 1,000 years. The remains from the coffin in the Magdeburg Cathedral then made their way to the University of Bristol.

Bristol University was the place where staff had the necessary expertise and equipment to perform an in-depth analysis of the ancient remains. Initial investigations, though, were not encouraging. Carbon dating produced a result that was two centuries older than the cathedral remains should be. But the fabrics in the coffin did exhibit the correct dates. This was puzzling.

Sadly, attempts to extract DNA from the bones failed, due to their lack of preservation. But the scientists persevered, now turning to a different technique. And that involved advanced analysis of the teeth found in the coffin. In fact, one of the only parts of the skull found in the tomb was the upper jaw, along with some teeth.

This particular technique involved analyzing the chemical compositions, or isotopes, of oxygen and strontium that all teeth contain. These chemical fingerprints build up as the dental structures develop over time. And the isotopes vary according to the environment and geological make-up of where an individual has lived.

The Roving Reporter