The woman from Juellinge
Just after the Birth of Christ a wealthy woman was buried at Juellinge on Lolland. She was around 30 years old when she died, but the cause of her death is unknown. A large but benign bone tumour was located on her thigh bone. The woman was laid in her grave fully-clothed, with costly jewellery and a table service. The Roman objects in the grave included a bronze cauldron which once contained a drink brewed from barley, cowberry, cranberry and bog myrtle. Pieces of beef and pork had also been laid in the grave.
A pillow for the woman’s head
The woman from Juellinge, who is displayed lying in her grave in the exhibition at the National Museum, was buried with care. Her head was rested on a pillow filled with reed mace down. Today the pillow is almost completely gone after so many years in the ground. The remains of it were seen as a moss-like layer during the excavation. Besides valuable jewellery and Roman bronze objects, the woman also was accompanied by a wooden box. It was equipped with a lock and in it lay a comb, a needle, a pair of scissors and a knife – perhaps tools that could be used in the kingdom of the dead.
