This is an oddity and provides excellent insight into the culture of
the late fifth century. Of course we do have ample Roman sources to
help understand the milieu. Again it is noteworthy that this high
status person is a women which conforms to our knowledge of local
traditions of northern Europe and even the Mediterranean.
The burial of a cow is so far unique which jumps this dig to the top
of the list.
In the meantime it tells of a surprisingly rich culture that was
certainly anchored around animal husbandry.
Cow and woman found
in Cambridgeshire Anglo-Saxon dig
Archaeologists
described the find as "unique in Europe"
Archaeologists excavating an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in
Cambridgeshire say the discovery of a woman buried with a cow is a
"genuinely bizarre" find.
25 June 2012 Last
updated at 09:10 ET
The grave was
uncovered in Oakington by students from Manchester Metropolitan
University and the University of Central Lancashire.
At first it was
thought the animal skeleton was a horse.
Student Jake Nuttall
said: "Male warriors might be buried with horses, but a woman
and a cow is new to us."
He added: "We
were excited when we thought we had a horse, but realising it was a
cow made it even more bizarre."
Co-director of the
excavation, Dr Duncan Sayer, from the University of Central
Lancashire, said: "Animal burials are extremely rare, anyway.
Grave goods including
brooches indicated the woman was of high status
"There are only
31 horse burials in Britain and they are all with men.
"This is the
first animal to be discovered with a woman from this period - the
late 5th Century - and it's really interesting that it's a cow, a
symbol of economic and domestic wealth and power.
"It's also
incredibly early to find any grave of a woman buried with such
obvious wealth."
'Unique' burial
The skeleton was found
with grave goods including brooches and hundreds of amber and
decorated glass beads.
"She also had a
complete chatelaine [keychain] set, which is an iron girdle and a
symbol of her high status," Dr Sayer said.
"It indicates she
had access to the community's wealth.
"She is almost
certainly a regional elite - a matriarchal figure buried with the
objects that describe her identity to the people who attended her
funeral."
Joint director Dr Faye
Simpson, from Manchester Metropolitan, said: "A cow is a big
thing to give up.
"It's a source of
food and something that would have been very expensive to keep, so to
sacrifice it would be a big decision.
"They would have
wanted to give her something really important to show respect and
they wouldn't have done that for just anybody.
"That's why we
don't find cows with burials," she said.
Dr Sayer added: "The
cow burial is unique in Europe which makes this an incredibly
exciting and important find.
"I don't think
I'll find anything as significant as this again in my lifetime."
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