Archaeologists have discovered a grave in Spitalfields, north of London, in which a woman was buried more than 16 centuries ago.

The valuables found inside the coffin show that the lady occupied a high social and political position.

In a report published in the independent British newspaper, David Keys asserts that the researchers' evidence indicates that the woman was most likely the wife of a Senator in the late Roman Empire in Britain.

"It is possible that she was the wife of one of the last rulers of Roman Britain," said Roger Tomlin, a prominent scholar of the history of Roman Britain.

Silk and gold

Research reveals that the woman was buried wearing a garment made of Chinese silk and pure gold thread.

Her clothing collection inside the grave also included a ribbon of woolen textiles that were dyed mostly purple.

Purple in this historical era is associated with political figures and members of the aristocracy.

Experts believe that the dye used to decorate clothes is the most expensive in the ancient world.

The woman was buried in a coffin of pure lead inside a large stone mausoleum, and precious objects were placed next to her, indicating luxury and wealth, including two bottles made of materials not found within the borders of the Roman Empire.

The researchers revealed that the woman’s head was placed on a pillow filled with bay leaves imported from the Mediterranean region. Pine and pistachio resin was also used to scent the air inside the grave.

Michael Marshall, a specialist in Roman archeology at the London Museum of Antiquities who supervised this research, says that "the objects buried with them reveal the ability of the elite of society to go to the farthest places, as a way to show their influence and wealth."

The items buried with the woman reveal her influence and wealth (Image caption - Shutterstock)

The biggest mystery remains is the identification of this woman, who had a prominent position in her society, as there is no inscription on the shrine reveals her exact identity, but archaeological evidence may allow historians to suggest some possibilities.

According to research, the woman grew up in Rome, and was probably born in the middle of the fourth century AD, and died in the fourth or fifth decade after the year 360 AD.

When she was 4 or 5 years old, she suffered from a disease that temporarily stopped the growth of her tooth enamel.

The clothes and articles found in the grave indicate that the woman was most likely the wife of the provincial governor, or the wife of one of the deputies known at the time as "the peculiar", among them Aleppius of Antioch, and Chrysanthus, who was a governor in Italy before he was sent to London.

Hypotheses

Among the hypotheses is that she was the wife of one of the four rulers who declared themselves emperors in Britain during the chaotic years between 383 and 407 AD.

Researchers believe that the woman married when she was in her mid or late teens, while her husband was nearly twice her age at the time.

It is likely that she accompanied him to London, and died two or three years after her arrival there after a birth.

That era was a pivotal stage in the history of Britain, because it is the period before the end of Roman rule in the country in 410 AD.

And Roman rule in Britain collapsed long before its collapse throughout Western Europe, and this led to a difference in British and English history significantly from the history of Western Europe, according to the author.