18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20 years ago in Wels with the skeletons of two people and a horse has now turned out to be the first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period to be documented in Austria, according to a study by the University of Vienna.

In 2004, an unusual grave was discovered during construction work in the area of the so-called eastern burial ground of the ancient Roman city of Ovilava – today’s Wels in Upper Austria. It contained the remains of two people embracing each other and at least one horse. Due to these unusual features, the find was initially thought to be an early medieval double burial.

A comprehensive new investigation, in which the latest bioarchaeological and archaeogenetic methods were used, revealed surprising findings: The grave is 500 years older than previously thought. It dates from the 2nd to 3rd century AD and can therefore be assigned to Roman antiquity in Austria, report anthropologist Sylvia Kirchengast and archaeologist Dominik Hagmann in a study published in the “Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports”.

Unexpected family relationships

“In Roman times, burials in which people were buried next to horses were very rare. But what is even more extraordinary is that this is the first burial from Roman antiquity in Austria in which genetic analyzes were able to clearly identify a biological mother and her biological daughter, who were buried at the same time. This makes our results particularly exciting,” explains Dominik Hagmann, lead author of the study.

Visualization of the findings

Osteological findings in conjunction with new research methods such as the analysis of ancient DNA revealed the biological sex and also suggested a family connection between the two human individuals. Radiocarbon dating finally enabled a more precise chronological classification of both the human skeletons and the horse skeleton.

Modern technology reveals the ancient connection

The detailed examination of the golden grave goods provided additional information for the new dating of the site. Archaeozoological examinations of the buried horse expanded our understanding of the entire burial context.

“In summary, our investigations showed that the burial was of two biological women—probably a mother aged around 40 to 60 and her daughter aged around 20 to 25—from the second and third centuries. “The grave is around 500 years older than initially assumed and clearly dates from Roman times,” says study director Sylvia Kirchengast.


Artistic reconstruction of the combined human-animal burial, illustrating how the bodies may have originally been laid on the carcass before the burial pit was filled. Credit: Jona Schlegel, 2024
Artistic reconstruction of the combined human-animal burial, illustrating how the bodies may have originally been laid on the carcass before the burial pit was filled. Credit: Jona Schlegel, 2024

The exact background of the double burial is not clear, the scientists’ theory is that both may have died of an illness at the same time and, according to a tradition from the late Iron Age, were buried together with their horse—the older person has skeletal features that indicate frequent riding could.

Ultimately, this study shows the enormous potential that the application of modern, scientific methods in combination with traditional research approaches offers for archaeology in Roman Austria.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104479

University of Vienna

Cover Photo: University of Vienna

Related Articles

New discoveries show that Claros continued to serve as an oracle center after Christianity

14 September 2022

14 September 2022

Game boards and forked cross motifs dating to the fifth and seventh centuries AD were discovered at the ancient Greek...

Lost Egyptian City Unveils Ancient Tower Houses: A Glimpse into Early Urban Innovation

15 July 2025

15 July 2025

A recent archaeological excavation in Egypt’s Nile Delta has uncovered the remains of a long-lost city featuring rare and substantial...

Found Home of the Legendary Viking Woman Who Crossed the Atlantic 500 Years Before Columbus

11 March 2021

11 March 2021

Archaeologists in Iceland recently excavated a farm believed to belong to the legendary Viking woman Gudrid Torbjörnsdottir. She is believed...

Czech scientists make “Celtic beer” using analysis of pollen from burial site

22 September 2023

22 September 2023

Czech scientists, together with a small experimental brewer, have recreated the country’s first ‘Celtic Beer’ using laboratory analysis of pollen...

Shackled skeleton identified as rare evidence of slavery found in Rutland

7 June 2021

7 June 2021

In Rutland, archaeologists discovered an ‘unusual’ skeleton of a Roman slave, who might have been a criminal sentenced to death....

Are There Stone Age Megastructures on the Baltic Sea Floor?

11 June 2025

11 June 2025

The western Baltic Sea may conceal far more prehistoric cultural heritage than previously believed — including monumental underwater structures created...

The World’s oldest and first swords ever discovered

11 March 2023

11 March 2023

The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound...

The first analysis results confirm that the grave in Tiarp is one of the oldest stone burial chambers in Scandinavia

31 January 2024

31 January 2024

In Tiarp, close to Falköping, Sweden, archaeologists from Gothenburg University and Kiel University have discovered a dolmen that dates back...

Archaeologists Uncover Elegant Rare Blue Frescoes of an Ancient Sanctuary in Pompeii

10 June 2024

10 June 2024

Archaeologists digging away at ash covering the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a room with walls frescoed in an...

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal...

Farmer was Discovers 2600-year-old Stone Slab of Pharaoh Apries

19 June 2021

19 June 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that a farmer in Ismailia, Egypt, uncovered a 2,600-year-old stone monument erected by Pharaoh...

Inscriptions That Could Change the History of Turkish Migration to Anatolia Are Disappearing: Esatlı Kaya Inscriptions

30 March 2025

30 March 2025

Researchers made a significant discovery during field research conducted in 1994 in Esatlı village, Mesudiye, Ordu. They introduced a series...

A massive Rune stone found under a kitchen floor in Denmark declared treasure

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A couple in Denmark discovered a massive rune stone weighing approximately 900 kilograms during a home renovation project that planned...

KIŠIB: A Digital Archive From 80,000 Mesopotamian Seals is Being Created

19 December 2024

19 December 2024

Over the next 16 years, a research team from the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology at the Free University of...

The ruins of a thousand-year-old Buddhist Temple will be opened to the public in Kyrgyzstan

13 September 2022

13 September 2022

The unearthed remains of an ancient Buddhist temple in Kyrgyzstan will open to the public in mid-September as part of...