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(Image credit: © 2026 Chmiel-Chrzanowska et al., Archaeometry)
An enduring secret about when an ancient European “princess” buried in a log casket passed away has actually lastly been fixed, a brand-new research study reports.
The female’s wood casket was at first discovered in the town of Bagicz in northwestern Poland in 1899, after it fell from a deteriorating cliff. Archaeologists nicknamed her the “Princess of Bagicz” due to the fact that of her distinct burial design and unspoiled artifacts. Over the years, scientists identified that she had actually passed away in Roman times, however analyses offered contrasting dates covering almost 300 years.
Inside the casket, which originated from a bigger cemetery related to the Wielbark culture associated to the Gothswas the skeleton of an adult female who was buried on a cowhide in addition to a bronze pin, a locket of glass and amber beads, and a set of bronze bracelets.
A historical assessment of the design of the serious items in the 1980s recommended that the Princess of Bagicz passed away in between A.D. 110 and 160. In 2018, a carbon-dating analysis of the lady’s tooth produced a date of in between 113 B.C. and A.D. 65, which would make her considerably older than the artifacts buried with her.
To solve this disparity, a group of scientists led by Marta Chmiel-Chrzanowskaan archaeologist at the University of Szczecin in Poland, dated the log casket itself utilizing dendrochronological analysis, which includes counting the tree’s rings. They gathered a little core of wood from the casket and compared the development rings to recognized sequential series from northwest Poland.
“The estimated felling date of the oak used for the coffin was calculated as 120 AD,” the scientists composed in the research study. “It is likely that the coffin was crafted immediately after felling.”
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Considered that the female’s serious products and casket are from the very same period, the radiocarbon date from her tooth is most likely inaccurate, the scientists concluded, and it was possibly shaken off due to the fact that of the female’s diet plan or the water sources she consumed from throughout life.
An archival illustration of the female’s burial
in the log casket from Bagicz.
(Image credit: © 2026 Chmiel-Chrzanowska et al., Archaeometry)Radiocarbon dates can be shaken off by as much as 1,200 years if the natural sample originates from a marine organism instead of a terrestrial one, researchers have actually found out, due to the fact that the carbon saved in the oceans is older than the carbon discovered on land. This is referred to as the marine tank result and leads to marine organisms seeming older than they in fact are when they are carbon dated. Consuming a considerable quantity of seafood can toss off a human’s carbon date by lots or hundreds of years. This may have occurred when it comes to the Princess of Bagicz.
“The burial provides rare insight into wooden coffin preservation in the Wielbark culture, offering valuable data on funerary practices and environmental conditions that allowed for the exceptional survival of organic materials,” the scientists composed.
The secret of the Princess of Bagicz’s date of death has actually been resolved, there is still more to discover about her and her culture
“The woman did not exhibit any paleopathologies that could indicate the cause of death,” Chmiel-Chrzanowska informed Live Science in an e-mail, however she did have osteoarthritis, which might have been from job-related overuse, provided her young age of 25 to 35 when she passed away. Her osteoarthritis likewise recommends that the lady was a normal agent of the Wielbark culture instead of a princess, Chmiel-Chrzanowska composed in a previous research study
“Next week, I am going to Warsaw for DNA testing” to read more about the lady, Chmiel-Chrzanowska stated. DNA analysis was formerly tried on the skeleton, however it was not effective. “We will attempt to drill into the skull in such a way as to obtain material from the temporal [skull] bone, without the need to damage it,” she included.
Chmiel-Chrzanowska, M., R. Fetner, & & M. Krąpiec. (2026 ). Unrevealing the date of a Roman Iron Age duration burial in log casket from Bagicz: A multidisciplinary technique.” Archaeometry https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.70113
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Kristina Killgrove is a personnel author at Live Science with a concentrate on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her posts have actually likewise appeared in places such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological sociology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, along with a B.A. in Latin from the University of Virginia, and she was previously a university teacher and scientist. She has actually gotten awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science composing.
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