In 1905, a remarkable discovery was made in Hogebeintum, in Friesland. During excavations in one of the artificial mounds, the remains of a person buried in an oak coffin were found.
The skeleton dates from the 7th century and the deceased was presumably an important woman. We know this because full grown oaks were rare in this area of my country in that time period. Being buried in a hollow tree coffin is therefore considered to be rare.
The woman also wore a necklace with 35 glass beads, 2 amber beads and 121 mother of pearl beads, also signs of a high ranking woman in 7th century society. She was 1m60 tall and between the ages of 40 and 50 when she passed.
Ava's Corner 