According to a Live Science report, a grave dated to the first century B.C. has been found in northern Greece. Areti Chondrogianni-Metoki of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kozani said that the grave contained the remains of a woman who had been placed on a bed made of mostly of bronze with some wooden parts.

Only the bronze has been preserved. The bedposts were decorated with images of mermaids and a bird holding a snake in its mouth, a symbol of the god Apollo. Gold laurel leaves, thought to have been part of a wreath, were found at her head.

Gold threads on the woman’s hands may have been part of an embroidered covering, Chondrogianni-Metoki said. Four clay pots and a glass vessel were also found in the burial.

Archaeologists are now analyzing the skeleton to determine the woman’s health, age when she died and possible cause of death. The artifacts found with her suggest that she likely came from a wealthy background, and may have belonged to a royal family.

“We do not know much about the history of this area [during the first century B.C.],” Chondrogianni-Metoki told Live Science. Thousands of years ago, Kozani was near an important city called Mavropigi (the site is now a village) that housed a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo, Chondrogianni-Metoki said.

source archaeology.org

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