BARCELONA — Archaeologists opened eight graves at the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria Pedralbes in Barcelona and identified the remains of Queen Elisenda of Montcada among 25 skeletons. The excavation, led by the Culture Institute of Barcelona, confirmed her burial in a small wooden box with austere clothing.

Queen Elisenda founded the monastery in 1326 and was buried in a space partitioned by a low wall between the church and the cloister. Traces of a gold-embroidered silk textile and aromatic herbs, including rosemary and myrtle, were found in her tomb.

Analysis of her remains showed signs of osteoarthritis and indicated she was about 70 years old at death, consistent with historical records placing her death in 1364. After the death of her husband, James II of Aragon and Valencia, in 1327, she lived in a small palace adjacent to the monastery until her passing.

The excavation revealed that the majority of the early tombs contained high-status adult women, many elderly with signs of physical aging such as osteoarthritis. Queen Elisenda married James II at age 30, one month after the death of his third wife. He ruled Aragon and Valencia from 1291 until his death in 1327.

As of a May 28 statement from the Culture Institute of Barcelona, only 6% of Queen Elisenda’s genome had been sequenced. “The study of the foundational graves offers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the first decades of the monastery's life, a decisive period for understanding its evolution and its role within medieval Catalan society.”