21 January 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Isles of Scilly Iron Age warrior buried with a mirror and sword was probably a woman

Archaeologists conducted a DNA analysis of the tooth enamel of a person who died more than two millennia ago on Bryher, one of the islands Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest of England. It was buried with a beautiful bronze mirror and a costly sword.

Archaeologists have debated for years whether the burial chamber with stone walls that were found on Bryher in 1999 held the remains of a man or a woman.

Along with the sole person’s remains, excavations turned up a sword in a copper alloy scabbard and a shield, both of which are typically associated with men. But there were also a brooch and a bronze mirror that had what appeared to be a sun disc motif and was typically associated with women. Due to the presence of both a mirror and a sword, the grave is unique in iron age Western Europe.

It was previously thought that only Iron Age women were buried with mirrors and only warrior men with swords, but the body now identified as a woman owned both, in death and presumably in life.

The discovery could shed light on the role of women warriors at a time when violence between communities is considered a fact of life.

Dr. Sarah Stark, a human skeletal biologist from Historic England, said the findings could shed light on the role of women in Iron Age Britain.

The remains were discovered alongside a 2000-year-old sword and mirror. Photo: Historic England
The remains were discovered alongside a 2000-year-old sword and mirror. Photo: Historic England

 “Although we can never know completely about the symbolism of objects found in graves, the combination of a sword and a mirror suggests this woman had high status within her community and may have played a commanding role in local warfare, organizing or leading raids on rival groups,” Stark says.

She adds: “This could suggest that female involvement in raiding and other types of violence was more common in Iron Age society than we’ve previously thought, and it could have laid the foundations from which leaders like Boudicca would later emerge.”

A farmer on the island of Bryher accidentally discovered the grave, a neatly built stone-lined pit, in 1999. The majority of the crouching skeleton was reduced to a single soil stain, with only a few scattered pieces of bones and teeth remaining. The University of California at Davis scientists developed a method that extracts proteins from tooth enamel that can be linked to the X and Y chromosomes, which determine sex. Earlier attempts to extract DNA from bones failed because they were too decayed, but new evidence has come from this method.

Capstones at the Bryher burial site, which was discovered in 1999. Photo: Isles of Scilly Museum Association
Capstones at the Bryher burial site, which was discovered in 1999. Photo: Isles of Scilly Museum Association

Dr. Glendon Parker, an adjunct associate professor in the Department of environmental toxicology at the University of California, Davis, said: “Tooth enamel is the hardest and most durable substance in the human body. It contains a protein with links to either the X or Y chromosome, which means it can be used to determine sex. This is useful because this protein survives well compared to DNA.

“Our analysis involved extracting traces of proteins from tiny pieces of the surviving tooth enamel. This allowed us to calculate a 96% probability that the individual was female.”

The bronze mirror found in a 2,000-year-old Iron Age burial on Bryher, the Isles of Scilly, just off the coast of Cornwall. Photo: Historic England
The bronze mirror found in a 2,000-year-old Iron Age burial on Bryher, the Isles of Scilly, just off the coast of Cornwall. Photo: Historic England

The grave held the richest collection of grave goods from the southwest of England: as well as the crouched skeleton there were shield fittings, a ring for a sword belt, a copper brooch and ring, fibres from woven textiles, and what may have been a sheep or goat skin.

The mirror and weapons found in the grave are all associated with warfare. It is thought that mirrors may have be used in the iron age for signalling, communicating and coordinating attacks. They also had ritualistic functions, as a tool to communicate with the supernatural world to ensure the success of a raid or “cleanse” warriors on their return.

The research was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports.

Cover Photo: Historic England

Historic England

Related Articles

3,400-Year-Old Jade and Stone Workshop Site Discovered at Sanxingdui Ruins

26 July 2024

26 July 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a jade and stone processing site that dates back over 3,400 years at the Sanxingdui Ruins in...

A unique discovery in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, the city famous for its sculptors in the Roman World, “As if he were a breathing God”

30 July 2024

30 July 2024

A marble ‘Zeus head’ was found in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, located within the borders of the Geyre neighborhood...

Recent excavations at Girsu uncovered innovative civilization-saving technology of Ancient Sumerians

19 November 2023

19 November 2023

In ancient city Girsu, located near the modern city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, revealed through a recent excavation by...

Maltaş Temple Revealed

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Phrygian Valley, 10 meters high monument with Phrygian scriptures inscriptions on it discovered. The unearthed Maltaş monument is actually the...

A marble block depicting the mythological story of Actaeon, who was killed by his dogs, was found in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium

7 August 2022

7 August 2022

A marble block depicting the mythological story of Actaeon  (Akteon), who was killed by his dogs, was found during the...

Researchers have unveiled text concealed beneath an intricate decorative layer of gold leaf on a page of the famous Blue Qur’an

19 November 2024

19 November 2024

Using multispectral imaging techniques, researchers from the Zayed National Museum have uncovered text hidden beneath an intricate layer of gold...

Ancient tombs discovered at Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Archaeologists discovered several graves and a leaden sarcophagus possibly dating from the 14th century at Paris’ Notre Dame church, France’s...

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

“Nikasitimos Was Here Mounting Timiona,” 2,500-year-old erotic graffiti on Astypalaia, Greece

7 April 2024

7 April 2024

In 2014, an archaeologist working on Astypalaia, a remote Greek island of the Dodecanese discovered one of the world’s oldest...

Ötzi the Iceman Had Dark Skin, Bald Head and Anatolian Ancestry -New study rewrites ancient history

17 August 2023

17 August 2023

New DNA analysis by German researchers shows that the famous glacier mummy Ötzi may have had dark skin, dark eyes,...

“Last Rhodes shipwreck” of Roman period found in Turkey’s Fethiye

5 March 2022

5 March 2022

Turkish researchers, a Rhodes shipwreck from the third century A.D. was discovered in the depths of the Gulf of Fethiye...

The Largest Circular Tomb of the Ancient World Is Opening

16 February 2021

16 February 2021

The restoration of Augustus’ colossal tomb, which is expected to be opened in 2014, has been completed. The Augustus mausoleum...

Newly Discovered Two Fortress Settlements and a New Type of Open-Air Temple in Eastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye

26 March 2024

26 March 2024

Two fortress settlements and two new open-air temples were discovered during a survey in Tunceli province in the Eastern Anatolia...

2,600-year-old Terracotta Pipeline found in India

11 August 2024

11 August 2024

During the 10th phase of archaeological excavations at the Keeladi archaeological site in Tamil Nadu, India, archaeologists uncovered a terracotta...

2000-year-old Genuine Pompeii marble relief installed in a wall lining the staircase leading down to the basement in a Belgium home

22 December 2023

22 December 2023

An important marble relief depicting the earthquake of 62 AD, stolen from the ruins of ancient Pompeii in Italy in...