The crumbling remains of Alfred the Great's granddaughter - a Saxon princess who married one of the most powerful men in Europe - have been unearthed more than 1,000 years after her death.
The almost intact bones of Queen Eadgyth - the early English form of Edith - were discovered wrapped in silk, inside a lead coffin in a German cathedral.
Eadgyth - one of the oldest members of the English royal family - was given in marriage to the influential Holy Roman Emperor Otto I and lived in Germany until her death in 946AD, aged 36.
Yesterday, British archaeologists involved in the find hailed it as 'one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years'.
The bones have now been brought back to Eadgyth's native Wessex for scientific tests to fully confirm her identity.
Queen Eadgyth lived at the dawn of the English nation.
Her grandfather Alfred the Great was the first monarch to style himself King of the Anglo Saxons, while her step-brother Athelstan was the first King of the English.
Her bones were unearthed at Madgeburg Cathedral in Germany. The preliminary findings will be announced at a conference at the University of Bristol today.
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Professor Mark Horton of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol said it was 'very likely' to be the Queen.
He went on: 'If we can prove this truly is Eadgyth, this will be one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years.'
Eadgyth was aged 19 when she was sent to Germany with her sister Adiva in an attempt to build political bridges.
The German ruler Otto I was asked to choose between the sisters - and opted to marry Eadgyth.
His queen bore two children: a girl Liutgarde, who married Conrad the Red; and a boy Liudolf, the Duke of Swabia.
Eadgyth lived in Saxony, Germany, until her death when she was buried in a monastery in Madgeburg.
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