Iron Age Celtic Woman Found Buried In Zurich Tree Trunk
Office for Urban Development, City of ZurichThe woman was found buried in a woolen dress and shawl, with bronze bracelets, a bronze belt chain, iron clasps and pendants, and a glass and amber necklace.
Construction of the Kern school complex in Zurich’s Aussersihl district was fairly mundane right up until the discovery of a 2,200-year-old Iron Age Celtic woman buried in a hollowed-out tree trunk.
Researchers were confident this was a woman of high regard, due to her woolen dress, shawl, sheepskin coat, and necklace made of amber and glass beads. Analysis of the remains indicated she was around 40 when she died — and that she had a sweet tooth.
Experts also believed she grew up in what is now modern-day Zurich’s Limmat Valley. While the preservation of her body and belongings is certainly impressive enough, the ingeniously modified tree trunk she was laid to rest in was just as remarkable.
Previous evidence suggested a Celtic settlement dating to the first century B.C. existed there. While some posited the two were buried in the same decade, that aspect remains unclear. To learn more, archaeologists salvaged, conserved, and analyzed the remains.
Furthermore, researchers added that during the period in which this woman was buried (from 450 B.C. to 58 B.C.), a “wine-guzzling, gold-designing, poly/bisexual, naked-warrior-battling culture” called La Tène flourished in Switzerland’s Lac de Neuchâtel.
Perhaps we’re now poised to learn more about this fascinating yet little-known group.
