...4,000-year-old skeleton of an 'elite female' wearing a silver crown is discovered in Murcia

• Researchers uncovered the remains of a woman and man in La Almoloya, Spain
• They were buried in an ovoid jar under the floor of an ancient Bronze Age palace
• The woman was wearing a silver crown and bracelets and other funerary goods
• Experts believe she was the ruler of the El Argar community 4,000 years ago 

A Bronze Age society that lived in what is now Spain 4,000 years ago may have been ruled by women, say archaeologists who found a skeleton with a silver crown.

The bones of a woman buried with a silver diadem and other funerary riches were discovered at Spanish Bronze Age site La Almoloya. 

Archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona found the remains of a woman and a man in a 'very large ovoid jar' that had been buried under the floor of what they believe was a Bronze Age palace or government building.

The woman lived in a society called 'El Argar' by experts - named for the first dig site where the cultural evidence of the ancient society was discovered in 1880.

Argaric culture dominated the south-east part of Spain between 2200 BC and 1550 BC, and it has long been suspected women held leadership roles in the society.

The team said most of the funerary items were found on the woman, including the crown and silver bracelets, suggesting she, rather than the man, was the ruler. 

A Bronze Age society that lived in what is now Spain 4,000 years ago may have been ruled by women, say archaeologists who found a skeleton with a silver crown

Archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona found the remains of a woman and a man in a 'very large ovoid jar' that had been buried under the floor of what they believe was a Bronze Age palace or government building

 

EL ARGAR SOCIETY: A BRONZE AGE CULTURE 

El Argar was an Early Bronze Age site in modern day Spain.

It was home to an ancient tribe that sophisticated pottery and ceramic techniques they traded with other tribes in the region. 

The civilisation covered much of what is southern Spain and Portugal.

Some experts say El Argar was a unified state, rather than a collection of tribes with similar cultures.

As well as pottery they produced knives, halberds, swords, spears, arrows and axes with curved edges.

Silver was also heavily exploited by the community, including for jewellery. 

Recent studies have suggested that for some, if not all of the time, El Argar may have been a matriarchal society. 

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Women of the ruling class may have played an important role in the governance of El Argar, claimed study lead author Roberto Risch.

This was a society which flourished in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula between 2200 and 1550 BC, lasting two centuries and becoming 'the first state organisation of the western Mediterranean.'

Risch and colleagues investigated a princely tomb containing two people and up to 30 items of funerary goods. 

The tomb was discovered in 2014 at the archaeological site of La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia, beneath what was later identified to be the governing hall of a palatial building.

'La Almoloya and the princely grave 38 belong to these exceptional archaeological finds, which from time to time provide a glimpse into the ruling subjects and the emblematic objects of the first state societies emerging in Europe during the Bronze Age,' states Vicente Lull, one of the study's coordinators. 

Published in Antiquity, this research has given archaeologists an insight into the political and economic power of the ruling class in El Argar.

The burial, located in a large ceramic jar, featured a man aged 35 to 40, and a woman aged 25 to 30. 

Next to them was a range of some 30 valuable and prestigious objects, many of which were made or embellished with silver and almost all belonging to the female. 

The bones of a woman buried with a silver diadem and other funerary riches were discovered at Spanish Bronze Age site La Almoloya in south east Spain

There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers with animal offerings. 

The most outstanding item was a silver diadem found on the head of the female.

A detailed study of the diadem involved a comparison to four others found in the 19th century in tombs of rich women and the elite of the Argaric society.

The name of the society comes from El Argar, the first archaeological dig site where evidence of this specific bronze age culture was first discovered.The comparison of the diadems points to the fact that all of them, despite being remarkably uniform, were highly exclusive pieces. 

They were created in a silversmith workshop such as the one recently discovered in Tira del Lienzo, another Argaric site excavated by the same team a few years ago.

'The singularity of these diadems is extraordinary. They were symbolic objects made for these women, thus transforming them into emblematic subjects of the dominant ruling class,' explains Cristina Rihuete, who also took part in the study. 

'Each piece is unique, comparable to funerary objects pertaining to the ruling class of other regions, such as Brittany, Wessex and Unetice, or in the eastern Mediterranean of the 17th century BCE, contemporary to our [dig site]'.

The tomb was discovered in 2014 at the archaeological site of La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia, beneath what was later identified to be the governing hall of a palatial building

Copper awl with a handle coated in silver. There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers with animal offerings

According to researchers, the opulence of the funerary goods found in the tombs of the elite women is an indication of their distinguished role in the governance of some of these settlements. 

This is the case in La Almoloya, birthplace of the Argar society and centre of the most relevant political and economic power within the region.

The team believe that the women were actually in charge, rather than just being symbolic figureheads for the society. 

 'In the Argaric society, women of the dominant classes were buried with diadems, while the men were buried with a sword and dagger,' the team argued.

The team said most of the funerary items were found on the woman, including the crown and silver bracelets, suggesting she, rather than the man, was the ruler

KEY DISCOVERIES FROM LA ALMOLOYA 

Experts from the Autonomous University of Barcelona have been excavating a site called La Almoloya.

This was once an important bronze age building - possibly a palace or parliament, the team explained.

Under the floor of the building was a large ceramic jar features two people - a man aged 35 to 40 and a woman aged 25 to 30. 

They were surrounded by 30 valuable and prestigious objects made or embellished with silver.

The vast majority belonged to the female, suggesting she held a higher rank than the man.

There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers.

The most outstanding item was a silver diadem found on the  woman's head.

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'The funerary goods buried with these men were of lesser quantity and quality. 

'As swords represent the most effective instrument for reinforcing political decisions, El Argar dominant men might have played an executive role, even though the ideological legitimation as well as, perhaps, the government, had lain in some women's hands,' they explained. 

The grave excavated at La Almoloya included a man and a woman, along with 30 pieces of funerary goods.

According to genetic analyses on the remains conducted at the Max Planck Institute, the individuals buried in Grave 38 were contemporaneous.

They died simultaneously or close together in the mid-17th century BC. 

The pair were unrelated biologically, but experts predict they were married.

The team believe they had a daughter, who was found buried near them. 

The woman had several congenital abnormalities, along with markings on the ribs that could indicate she had a pulmonary infection at the time of death.

Meanwhile, the male also had wear and tear on his bones indicative of extensive physical activity, possibly horse riding. 

The woman was covered in the majority of the funerary items, including the silver diadem, silver bracelets and other expensive goods that increase evidence she was a member of the elite.  

Of equally exceptional character is the building under which the grave was found—possibly one of the first Bronze Age palaces identified in Western Europe, the team explained in their paper.

Ring from the dig site. A detailed study of the diadem involved a comparison to four others found in the 19th century in tombs of rich women and the elite of the Argaric society

Golden earlobe tunnel-plugs from La Almoloya. According to genetic analyses on the remains conducted at the Max Planck Institute, the individuals buried in Grave 38 were contemporaneous

 

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