Medieval woman stood less than 5 feet tall. She may have been deadly warrior, study says

While excavating a cemetery for medieval knights in Spain, archaeologists came across something unexpected: the remains of a woman. Pierced by sharp objects, her bones suggest she fought and died in battle, likely over 800 years ago.

The discovery prompted a flurry of questions about her role in the male-dominated society. Who was she? Why was she buried there? Did she fight alongside the knights?

By analyzing her skeleton, archaeologists shed light on her diet, lifestyle and status, allowing them to venture several hypotheses about her identity, according to a study published May 14 in the journal Scientific Reports.

The cemetery

Located on the outskirts of Madrid, the cemetery is affiliated with the castle of Zorita de los Canes, a hilltop fortress dating to the ninth century A.D.

Perched on the frontier between Christian kingdoms and Muslim conquerors, the castle was the site of frequent conflict, Patxi Pérez Ramallo, one of the study authors, told McClatchy News in an email.

During the early medieval period, amid an era of Christian expansion, the fortress was occupied by the warrior monks, or knights, of the Order of Calatrava, Ramallo said.

“Its new Christian inhabitants enjoyed the advantages of settling the area but also suffered the setbacks of attacks by the Muslims settled in the south,” Ramallo said.

Skeletons unearthed

During recent excavations of the castle’s cemetery, the remains of 24 men and one woman were unearthed, all of whom were buried between the 12th and 15th centuries. All but two of the remains showed signs of violent deaths.

“It is clear that they are linked to war, and we believe that they could have perished as a result of significant battles against the Almoravid Empire (a Muslim dynasty centered in Morocco), specifically the Battle of Alarcos (1195) or the Battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212),” Ramallo said.

Given her unhealed injuries, the woman — who was short in stature and middle-aged — may have died alongside the men, likely while wearing armor, according to a University of Rovira news release.

As to why she was present at the battle, archaeologists ventured several hypotheses.

She may have been a local inhabitant drawn to the castle for “repopulating advantages,” or she could have been an on-site servant for the knights “who was involved in a war episode,” Ramallo said. There’s also a chance the woman predated the warriors and died during an earlier Muslim attack.

The final option is that she was “a member of a military order’s female counterpart, such as convent nuns who dedicated themselves to prayer, teaching, and work, and even helped in different tasks during the war,” Ramallo said.

Results from the osteological analysis provide evidence for different theories.

On one hand, her bones revealed lower levels of protein intake than the men, which could indicate she belonged to a lower social status, perhaps working as a servant.

However, if she had been a servant, the repetitive physical labor would have left telltale marks on her bones — which were not present.

Instead, her remains had different signature markings that indicate she, like the men, was trained to use a sword.

“I believe that these remains belong to a female warrior, but further analysis is needed to determine to what extent this woman is contemporary with the other knights” Carme Rissech, one of the study authors, said in the release.

“We should picture her as a warrior of about (40) years of age, just under (5) feet tall, neither stocky nor slender and skillful with a sword,” Rissech said.

It’s possible she sought to advance from her humble origins by fighting alongside the warrior monks, Ramallo said.

Carbon dating would help to clarify how she fit into the history of the castle, and whether or not she was indeed a female outlier serving among the ranks of male warriors.

This story was originally published June 5, 2024 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Medieval woman stood less than 5 feet tall. She may have been deadly warrior, study says."