{"id":301845,"date":"2026-07-21T15:34:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T15:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/301845\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T15:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T15:34:55","slug":"shocking-mystery-revealed-in-centuries-old-royal-tombs-at-queens-monastery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/301845\/","title":{"rendered":"Shocking mystery revealed in centuries-old royal tombs at queen’s monastery"},"content":{"rendered":"

When researchers\u00a0in Barcelona<\/a>\u00a0recently opened centuries-old royal tombs, they uncovered a startling mystery: Several contained the wrong people.<\/p>\n

The exhumations took place at the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes in Barcelona, Spain, a nearly 700-year-old Gothic monastery founded by Queen Elisenda of Montcada.<\/p>\n

The wife of King James II of Aragon, Elisenda, founded the monastery in 1326 \u2014 and to mark its 700th anniversary, researchers wrapped up a multidisciplinary investigation into its\u00a0medieval tombs.<\/p>\n

Local officials have now shared the first results of a three-year\u00a0excavation and research project, which produced several unexpected discoveries.<\/p>\n

They found that many of the remains did not belong to the people assigned to the tombs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the project\u2019s most significant findings is that the opening of several tombs showed that the identities historically assigned to them do not necessarily correspond with the remains found inside,\u201d the release noted, which was translated from Catalan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the tomb of Artau de Foces, researchers found no male individual. Instead, they discovered the remains of five people: two adult women and three children.\u201d<\/p>\n

When researchers\u00a0in Barcelona\u00a0recently opened centuries-old royal tombs, they uncovered a startling mystery: Several contained the wrong people. Culture Institute of Barcelona<\/p>\n

The exhumations took place at the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes in Barcelona, Spain, a nearly 700-year-old Gothic monastery founded by Queen Elisenda of Montcada. Culture Institute of Barcelona<\/p>\n

The wife of King James II of Aragon, Elisenda, founded the monastery in 1326 \u2014 and to mark its 700th anniversary, researchers wrapped up a multidisciplinary investigation into its\u00a0medieval tombs. Culture Institute of Barcelona<\/p>\n

The sheer number of skeletons found was surprising, said Enric Puga, communications officer for the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes.<\/p>\n

Puga told Fox News Digital that researchers were not expecting to find the remains of 25 people in eight tombs \u2014 and were even more surprised to find over 200 archaeological samples, including\u00a0funerary offerings\u00a0and preserved plants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe openings have shown re-openings and subsequent alterations, which means that we do not always find the person identified with the tomb,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the case of the tomb of Francesca Saportella, second abbess of the monastery, where at least nine individuals of late chronologies have been found, some with edge weapon wounds, as well as a female trunk mummified with fetal remains,\u201d added Puga.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe abbess is not there, in any of the identified remains.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheer number of skeletons found was surprising, said Enric Puga, communications officer for the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes. Culture Institute of Barcelona<\/p>\n

\u201cThe openings have shown re-openings and subsequent alterations, which means that we do not always find the person identified with the tomb,\u201d Puga said. Culture Institute of Barcelona<\/p>\n

Puga told Fox News Digital that researchers were not expecting to find the remains of 25 people in eight tombs \u2014 and were even more surprised to find over 200 archaeological samples, including\u00a0funerary offerings\u00a0and preserved plants. Alfredo \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

He said it was \u201creassuring\u201d to find that the wooden box preserving the queen\u2019s tomb dated to the\u00a0medieval period<\/a>\u00a0and remained in excellent condition.<\/p>\n

Researchers found that Queen Elisenda was buried in simple, modest clothing, despite being a queen \u2014 and that her remains showed health conditions commonly associated with old age.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to archaeobotanical analysis, we have been able to identify several different funerary rites, with\u00a0plants associated with body preparation, such as rosemary, but also floral offerings with a symbolic component,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe subsequent reopening of some tombs gives us a lot of information about the funerary culture. \u2026 Inside some tombs, some wrapped in bundles, we have found many objects from the daily life of the period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional DNA testing is planned through 2027.<\/p>\n

So far, researchers have recovered about six percent of Queen Elisenda\u2019s genome, allowing them to make preliminary estimates about some of her pigmentation traits, according to the project.<\/p>\n

Puga added that all the research was done with the approval of the monastery\u2019s community of nuns.<\/p>\n

Puga added that all the research was done with the approval of the monastery\u2019s community of nuns. Culture Institute of Barcelona<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, [Queen Elisenda\u2019s] final will [shall] always be honored, which stipulates that all remains studied must be returned to the monastery to be interred in the same location where they were originally buried,\u201d said Puga.<\/p>\n

Overall, Puga said the results have provided \u201csignificant insights regarding the 14th century.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce all the samples have been analyzed, this information on the burials of a female power center will enable an understanding of medieval Catalan society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When researchers\u00a0in Barcelona\u00a0recently opened centuries-old royal tombs, they uncovered a startling mystery: Several contained the wrong people. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[69423,22661,881,4081,9,24,63,122,124,123,2208,1076],"class_list":["post-301845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-barcelona","tag-discovery","tag-history","tag-human-remains","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-spain","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}