2,600-year-old treasure reveals secrets in Celtic princess's tomb.

The characteristics of the gold jewelry found in the tomb suggest that the child buried next to the woman was the daughter of a Celtic princess.

Two pairs of earrings were found on the remains of a woman believed to be a Celtic princess and a young girl. Photo: Dirk Krausse.

The tomb of a Celtic princess and her daughter in southern Germany dates back to 583 BC, making it 2,600 years old. The entire burial site has been moved to a research facility in Stuttgart for scientists to study the burial place, according to the International Business Times.

The tomb contained the remains of a woman adorned with numerous pieces of gold, bronze, and amber jewelry. Half a meter away was the tomb of a young girl, approximately 2-3 years old. The similarities in the gold earrings found on the woman's and girl's bodies suggest a close relationship, scientists concluded in a report published in the journal Antiquities.

A pendant featuring bronze tulips. Photo: Dirk Krausse.

"The two pairs of gold earrings are very similar in style and decoration," said Dirk Krausse of the German Agency for Cultural Heritage in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the lead author of the study. "Through their shape and decorative motifs, it is possible that they belong to the same period, possibly the work of the same goldsmith. They are very special and we do not have specimens to compare them to from other tombs."

This burial mound dates back to the Iron Age, when the Celts lived in what is now Germany and traded with the rest of Europe. The excavation site was transferred to the German Cultural Heritage Agency in 2011.

Another gold ornament, 28.5 cm long, was found on the body of the female deceased. Photo: Dirk Krausse.

"We were quite surprised that the tomb wasn't looted. It's located near a small river or stream, and the soil there is very damp, like a kind of peat. Other tombs with looted artifacts are located in drier areas. Most of the time there's water in the tomb chamber, so it's not easy to steal anything," Krausse said.

The waterlogged conditions with low oxygen levels also limited the degradation process at the tomb. Scientists took samples from the woman's skeleton, but the girl's remains did not provide enough data for DNA testing. Only the girl's tooth enamel remained.

Currently, DNA sequencing technology is not advanced enough to perform the procedure on the remains in the girl's grave. "But in 10-20 years, that technology may be available," Krausse anticipates.

According to VNE