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Celtic woman found buried inside a TREE ‘wearing fancy clothes and jewellery’ after 2,200 years

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)
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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 .

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.

Artist's impression of the woman in her coffin. The coffin was made out of a hollowed tree trunk
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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 it
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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 woman
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Jewellery buried with the womanCredit: Zurich archaeology department

What is a tree coffin?

Here's everything you need to know...

  • Some ancient people used to use treetrunks to bury their dead
  • The technique used a hollowed out tree trunk in place of the traditional coffin we know today
  • The deceased were laid in the grave and often decorated with jewellery and gifts
  • The "tree coffin" was then buried like a traditional coffin is today
  • Tree burials were a common practice across central and northern Europe in the Iron Age
  • They were particularly popular among the Celts
A necklace found in the coffin
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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.

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In other news, we recently looked at six of the most gruesome bog bodies found in Europe.

The first beer ever brewed in the UK was unearthed in January.

Future archaeologists will likely dig up our leftover chicken bones to date modern life in Britain, according to one expert.

What do you think happened to the people buried in Zurich? Let us know in the comments!

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