Barcelona Archaeologists Unearth 25 Skeletons at 8 Monastery Graves, Including Queen Elisenda
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · May 29
Barcelona Archaeologists Unearth 25 Skeletons at 8 Monastery Graves, Including Queen Elisenda
3 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · May 29
Eight graves opened at Barcelona’s Pedralbes Monastery yielded 25 skeletons, including Queen Elisenda of Montcada, in a 700th-anniversary excavation of the 1326 foundation.
Elisenda’s remains were found in a small wooden box inside a divided tomb that appears to symbolize her dual role as sovereign and penitent; initial analysis says she died around age 70 with osteoarthritis.
Two abbess-linked tombs produced the most striking anomalies: four male skulls with stab wounds, a woman with a 20- to 23-week fetus in the birth canal, and another abbess with a facial knife injury near death.
Researchers also found misidentified burials, preserved hair, textiles, herbs, parchment and sheet music; DNA work has sequenced only 6% of the queen’s genome so far.
The team will use bone and tooth samples to confirm identities, family ties and possible pathogens, with fuller archaeological results expected in mid-2027.
What dark secrets of plague and violence does this royal monastery's 700-year-old graveyard hide?
Why were murdered men secretly buried with a high-ranking abbess in a 14th-century monastery?
2026 Excavations at Pedralbes: 25 Tombs, Queen Elisenda, and the Hidden Power of Medieval Catalan Women
Overview
In 2026, the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes in Barcelona became the focus of a major archaeological project, uncovering 25 individuals from eight 14th-century tombs, including the confirmed remains of Queen Elisenda of Montcada. These discoveries, part of the monastery’s 700th-anniversary project, provide a rare glimpse into the lives of high-status women and the social fabric of medieval Catalonia. Researchers found Queen Elisenda buried in simple clothing, yet with fragments of silk adorned with metallic thread, and surrounded by rosemary and myrtle, revealing a blend of monastic piety and royal status in her burial practices.