21 January 2010

Anglo-Saxon queen found

Things are getting mediaeval. After The Vale of York Hoard, which made the news last September researchers at the University of Bristol revealed they might have found the remains of the Anglo-Saxon queen, Eadgyth, grand-daughter of Alfred the Great.
Eadgyth and her sister were sent like chop liver to Germany to a Roman Emperor so he could pick one of them for marriage. He picked Eadgyth who remained in Germany until her death in 946 AD.
"Although her tomb is marked in the city's Cathedral by an elaborate 16th century monument, historians long believed her remains were lost centuries ago and that the tomb was empty. But in 2008, when the lid was removed for the first time in centuries, archaeologists discovered a lead coffin inside, bearing Queen Eadgyth's name and accurately recording the transfer of her remains in 1510." reports the Daily Mail






Professor Harald Meller told the BBC: "In the Middle Ages bones were often moved around, and this makes definitive identification difficult".

In the 24/7 news world it's quantity that counts (repeated the same ten lines about the same five news stories of the day three thousand times) not quality. For example, it would be nice to know why people felt compelled to move bones around.

Eadgyth's identity will be confirmed by testing her bones chemical traces of rocks found in the region of England where she grew up. The very idea of going all CSI on mediaeval remains inexplicably fills us with excitement.

Thank you to Comrade Bingo friend The Great Catherine for unearthing the news.



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