Discovered 2,800 years' remains of an ancient princess

Archaeologists found the remains of an ancient princess wearing jewels made of green glass beads in an oak coffin.

Simulating the tomb of a woman 2,800 years ago. (Photo: INRAP).

The remains of a woman believed to be an ancient princess lay in a coffin with her arms propped down on her body. This person was buried in a rectangular pit measuring 2.9 x 1 meters, along with many jewels and ceramics placed near the head. A team of experts at the National Institute of Archeology (INRAP) discovered traces of the underground coffin and bones of a woman near the province of Saint-Vulbas, about 32 km from Lyon. This is one of 3 people buried in the area during the Stone Age in the 8th century BC.

Blue glass beads are used to make jewelry in the tomb. (Photo: INRAP).

According to archaeologists, each woman's wrist has a necklace decorated with green glass and copper beads. They also found a 5-cm-wide copper buckle, proving that the dead wore a belt, possibly made of leather. Fragments of the pelvis, thigh bone, part of the skull and sacrum also lay among the tomb objects.

Workers discover ancient cemeteries as they bulldoze to build the Plaine de L'Ain industrial park. People buried in the burial ground may come from the Halstatt culture , known for its intricate artefacts, cultivation and metalworking techniques in southeastern France. In 800 BC, many trade routes were set up to exchange copper, tin and iron, linking the region with the Mediterranean. This was also the time when hill fortresses appeared, including many walls and ditches to prevent hostile tribes.