A woman wearing an upside-down crown is buried in an elaborate 2,700-year-old tomb in Greece

Greek archaeologists have discovered the tomb of an exiled aristocratic woman and call her the “Lady with the Upside Down Crown.” A burial from the 7th century BC is notable for an elaborate bronze crown placed upside down on the woman’s head. This may have meant the final end of her power.

The Lady’s tomb was unearthed during construction work at a recently discovered ancient cemetery in east-central Greece, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of Athens, according to a Nov. 27 translated statement from Greece’s Culture Ministry. The 40 tombs recovered so far appear to be burials of people of high social status who died during the Archaic and Classical periods (800 BC to 323 BC).

One grave stood out more than the others, the statement said. In the burial site of the woman, who was about 20 to 30 years old when she died, archaeologists found numerous bronze grave goods, including a pin with a geometric horse design, a necklace with a vase-shaped amulet, bone and ivory beads, copper earrings, a bracelet, and several spiral rings.

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A lion is depicted on the back of the bronze crown.

Front of bronze crown with large rosette.

A large bronze pin with a geometric horse drawn on it was found in a woman’s grave.

A necklace with a vase-shaped amulet found in a woman’s grave.

Aerial view of the woman’s grave being excavated.

A child wearing similar jewelry was buried near the woman.

In particular, the woman’s bronze crown attracted the attention of archaeologists. On the obverse was a large rosette, and on the reverse was a scene of a male and female lion facing each other. However, the crown was placed upside down on the woman’s head, so it looked like a reclining lion.

According to the statement, lions symbolized the power and authority of kings, as seen in the early iconography of the southern Greek city of Mycenae, and in the 13th century BC, the so-called Lion Gate was a powerful symbol of royal power.

However, an upside-down crown symbolizes the resignation or fall of a ruler. Therefore, the woman may have lost her privileged position during a period of social and political upheaval in the mid-7th century BC, the statement said. The difficult period in Greek history was finally resolved by the reforms of the legislator Solon, who laid the foundations of Athenian democracy in the early 6th century BC.

Archaeologists also found the burial of a four-year-old child near the woman. The child wears a bronze crown with a small rosette, dating from the same period as the woman, suggesting that they may have been related in some way.

Investigations are ongoing at the site and more graves may be uncovered in the near future.

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