The continuing work of interpreting a seventh century burial discovered at Trumpington near Cambridge in 2012 has been in the news in recent days with the publication of a facial reconstruction of the teenage occupant of the grave. Research into her skeleton indicates she probably came from the area immediately north of the alps and moved to this country after she was seven, but that she died aged only about sixteen. Her burial is assigned to the years 650-675, so very much the time that St Etheldreda was establishing her monastery nearby at Ely.
The burial is one of a rare type in which the body was laid out on a bed-like structure. It was definitely Christian and included another rare and significant feature in a garnet decorated cross. It is clear that the female was high status, though whether as a nun or a member of an aristocratic circles - or indeed both - is not clear.
The BBC News website has an article about the latest research at Teenage Anglo-Saxon girl's face revealed
Ars Technica reports on the project at Behold the likely face of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon teenage girl
CNN covers the work at Face of seventh-century teen buried with rare cross revealed
Phys Org has a report about the interpretation of the evidence at Researchers reconstruct lifestyle and face of 7th-century Anglo-Saxon teen
Fr Hunwicke also brings this thoughts about the grave and what it suggests in his post A new piece in an old jigsaw?
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