A team of archaeologists have found the 2,700-year-old remains of a woman wearing a bizarre upside-down crown.
The archaeological dig began when the construction of a solar park prompted local officials to move forward with a full investigation and dig for any artefacts.
The findings from the archaeologists dated the site and the burials contained within to the archaic era, roughly the second half of 700 BC, reports Need To Know.
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They uncovered what has been dubbed the ‘Burial of the Lady with the Inverted Diadem’ – a 20 to 30-year-old woman with an inverted crown placed upon her head.
The Greek Ministry of Culture and archaeologists from Greece collaborated on an archaeological dig, uncovering the meaning behind artefacts, as well as preserving them for future generations.
A spokesperson for the team said: “On her head, as a symbol of her superiority and position, an impressive bronze banded diadem crowned with a large rosette, ‘in the form of a sun’ in the centre of the forehead, had been ceremonially placed.
“The elaborate diadem is made with the embossed technique and bears the current decoration of facing pairs of heraldic lions, male and female, animals that symbolise royal power and authority par excellence.”
In short, the crown contains the signature markings symbolising the power and authority of the 7th century BC, but with the twist of being placed atop her head upside down.
An inverted crown may be symbolic of the fall of a ruler, meaning that the woman may have lost her position of power during the turbulent times of the 7th century BC.
The area surrounding the buried woman has luxury features, such as copper earrings, bone and ivory beads, charms and a multitude of bronze offerings.
Archaeologists speculated that the condition and the way the woman was buried were a reflection of the changing social statuses of the mid-7th century BC, with hereditary kingships fading in popularity and aristocratic elites coming into fashion.
They believe she had a high social status, indicated by the goods placed beside her.
A spokesperson added: “In the same group of graves, a burial of a minor girl of about four years of age was found, crowned with a bronze diadem with inlaid rosettes.
“The burial dates back to the same period of the early archaic period and was richly endowed with similar jewellery to that of the noblewoman, a fact that possibly indicates the existence of a kinship bond between them.”
The cemetery where the archaeological dig took place is arranged into individual clusters, including funeral pyres and pits, with findings from the area including the ‘inverted diadem’ pointing to the community having considerable wealth and a high social status.
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