Princess of Zweeloo

Princess von Zweeloo is the current name of a wealthy lady of the 5th century , whose grave was found in 1952 during excavations of a burial ground in Zweeloo , the Netherlands . The Princess of Zweeloo is kept in the Drents Museum in Assen .

history

Grave no. 87 was found during sand mining work. When it became clear that there was a special burial, the findings were transferred to a laboratory. During the preparation, several pieces of jewelry were recovered, including two silver bowl brooches with gold pressed plates and an isosceles, silver-gold-plated notch cut brooch. In the hip area there were about 30 large glass beads , an amber bead , 10 bronze rings and a bronze disc, which presumably formed the lady's belt. In the chest area she wore necklaces with amber beads, a silver toilet set and a beaver tooth . A bronze arm ring was also found, two large bronze keys, several small metal objects and a ceramic vessel that stood next to her head. All of the grave goods taken together show that she was a very wealthy lady. The textile residues corroded on metal objects show very fine linen weave in diamond twill weave with up to 18 threads per centimeter.

The dating to the 1st half to 3rd quarter of the 5th century was typologically based on the grave goods.

The princess of Zweeloo should not be confused with the Iron Age bog body of the wife of Zweeloo whose remains 1951 Juffersveen was found.

Trivia

The find of the Princess of Zweeloo inspired the Dutch writer Miep Diekmann to write her 1981 novel The Princess of Zweeloo .

literature

• WA van Es and J. Ypey: The grave of the "Princess of Zweeloo" and its significance in the context of the burial ground . In: Hans-Jürgen Häßler (Hrsg.): Studies on Saxony research . Laax, 1977, ISSN  0933-4734 , p. 97-126 .

Web links

• Princess of Zweeloo on the side of the municipality of Coevorden (Dutch)
• Encyclopedie Drenthe: Princess of Zweeloo (Dutch)

Coordinates: 52 ° 47 ′ 33.7 "  N , 6 ° 44 ′ 19.2"  E