The grave of Sleeping Beauty: 2,000-year-old Ethiopian site reveals ‘beautiful and adored’ woman seemingly asleep on her side – and staring into a mirror
- She was found curled up on her side, with her chin resting on her hand
- Next to her was a bronze cosmetics spoon with a lump of kohl eyeliner
- Excavation also uncovered Roman vessels and pieces of ornate jewellery
- It provides evidence that the Romans traded with the Aksumite kingdom hundreds of years earlier than thought
By ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD DAILYMAIL.COM
Archaeologists have uncovered the 2,000-year-old grave of an elegant ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
The ancient grave was found in a six-week excavation of the city of Aksum alongside ‘extraordinary’ artefacts dating from the first and second centuries
These included ornate items such as a necklace made of thousands of coloured beads, Roman glass vessels and a glass perfume flask.
But by far the biggest find was ‘Sleeping Beauty’, who was found curled up on her side, with her chin resting on her hand, wearing a stunning bronze ring.
She was buried gazing into an extraordinary Roman bronze mirror, suggesting that she was, at some point, a beautiful woman and adored at the time of her death.
She had next to her a beautiful and incredibly ornate bronze cosmetics spoon with a lump of kohl eyeliner,’ Louise Schofield, a former British Museum curator told the Observer.
The woman was also adorned with thousands of tiny beads, as well as a high-quality beaded belt that suggests she was a person of high status.
Alongside her were two perfectly preserved drinking glasses and a cup designed to catch the tears of the dead.
Researchers believe her remains survived so well because she was buried under an overhang to protect her from the elements.
They are still attempting to analyse her age and cause of death.
The dig also uncovered a clay jug, which may have contained food and drink for the afterlife. Researchers are now hoping to analyse its contents.
THE KINGDOM OF AKSUM
The Aksumite kingdom was a powerful force in northern Ethiopia during the early Christian era.
It existed from around 100–940 AD and achieved prominence by the 1st century AD, where it was a major player in the trade route between the Roman Empire and Ancient India.
It was also the city of the legendary Queen of Sheba and the heart of Akumite civilisation, one of the greatest in the ancient world.
Aksum dominated the Red Sea coast until the end of the 9th century.
It had influence from the shores of the Gulf of Aden to Zeila on the northern coast of Somaliland.
The Mediterranean trade of Aksum was ended by competition by the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries.
Modern Ethiopians see themselves as the descendants of this Biblical kingdom.
The latest find provides evidence that the Romans traded with the Aksumite kingdom hundreds of years earlier than previously thought.
The ancient grave was found in a six-week excavation of the city of Aksum alongside ‘extraordinary’ artefacts such as this perfume flask
The Aksumite kingdom was a powerful force in northern Ethiopia during the early Christian era.
It existed from around 100–940 AD and achieved prominence by the 1st century AD, where it was a major player in the trade route between the Roman Empire and Ancient India.
It was also the city of the legendary Queen of Sheba and the heart of Akumite civilisation, one of the greatest in the ancient world.
Aksum dominated the Red Sea coast until the end of the 9th century.
It had influence from the shores of the Gulf of Aden to Zeila on the northern coast of Somaliland.
The Mediterranean trade of Aksum was ended by competition by the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries.
Modern Ethiopians see themselves as the descendants of this Biblical kingdom.
The latest find provides evidence that the Romans traded with the Aksumite kingdom hundreds of years earlier than previously thought.
‘Every day we had shed-loads of treasure coming out of all the graves. I was blown away: I’d been confident we’d find something, but not on this scale,’ Schofield told the Observer.
Source:DAILYMAIL.COM
