The lady of the terp Hogebeintum
Period: 7th century, Early Middle Ages
The excavation of the terp Hogebeintum in 1905, picture collection Fries Museum
The oak treetrunkcoffin, picture: collection Fries Museum
The lady of the terp in the Fries Museum, picture: fotobureau Hoge Noorden
In 1905 a part of the terp Hogebeintum, Friesland, was excavated. They found an hollowed out oak tree with the skeleton of a woman inside, a so-called tree-trunk-coffin. Because trees are sparse in this area, one assumes that this oak must have been imported from far away. The woman was buried with a special necklace. This necklace was made of glass, amber, mother-of-pearl and bone beads. Because of these two things, the oaktree and the necklace, the notion that she was a lady of high status is very likely. She was 40-50 years old when she died, an old age for that time period.
Client: Fries Museum
Exhibition: Fries Museum: part of the exhibition Gold, found treasures from the Middle Ages. (till 3 January 2016)
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