Cow and woman found in Cambridgeshire Anglo-Saxon dig
Baku, July 6 (AZERTAC). Archaeologists excavating an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Cambridgeshire say the discovery of a woman buried with a cow is a "genuinely bizarre" find.
The grave was uncovered in Oakington by students from Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Central Lancashire.
At first it was thought the animal skeleton was a horse.
Student Jake Nuttall said: "Male warriors might be buried with horses, but a woman and a cow is new to us."
He added: "We were excited when we thought we had a horse, but realising it was a cow made it even more bizarre."
Co-director of the excavation, Dr Duncan Sayer, from the University of Central Lancashire, said: "Animal burials are extremely rare, anyway.
"There are only 31 horse burials in Britain and they are all with men.
"This is the first animal to be discovered with a woman from this period - the late 5th Century - and it`s really interesting that it`s a cow, a symbol of economic and domestic wealth and power.
"It`s also incredibly early to find any grave of a woman buried with such obvious wealth."
The skeleton was found with grave goods including brooches and hundreds of amber and decorated glass beads.
"She also had a complete chatelaine [keychain] set, which is an iron girdle and a symbol of her high status," Dr Sayer said.
Dr Sayer added: "The cow burial is unique in Europe which makes this an incredibly exciting and important find.
"I don`t think I`ll find anything as significant as this again in my lifetime."
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