Recently, Louise Schofield, an archaeologist and former curator at the British Museum, found out the ancient grave of the Queen of Sheba. This happened at the Gheralta plateau in northern Ethiopia.
“The story of the Queen of Sheba has a central place in the heart of all Ethiopians, so I became interested in the story myself,” she recalls (Sheba is thought to be located in parts of Ethiopia).
The first visit ultimately led Louise Schofield to discover the 2,000-year-old remains of a character that she fondly refers to as ‘sleeping beauty.’
The ancient grave was discovered at the stone stele, in an area that was once part of the ancient kingdom of Aksum, which today encompasses Ethiopia and Eritrea. Inside, scientists found the skeleton of a rich woman. A Roman-era bronze mirror was placed before her face. She was surrounded with glass vessels (to catch the tears of the dead), as well as a bronze cosmetics spoon and a lump of kohl eyeliner.
The dig also uncovered several other graves with the remains of large warriors clad who each wore an iron bangle.
“She must have been very wealthy, and probably well-loved,” Louise Schofield says.
The bone expert wasn’t able to ascertain her age at the time of death because the pelvis had been consumed by termites. Schofield hopes that analysis of the teeth will provide some answers.
“There was something very personal about the way she was lying,” Schofield says. The remains were also found surrounded by clay containers that likely contained food or drink (these have also been sent off for analysis).
“The food, drink and cosmetics were all presumably left for her to use in the afterlife. She was pre-Christian and that’s how people buried their dead then,” says Schofield.
Source: CNN
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