Prince? Princess? of Vix

Figure 1: Reproduction of the Vix burial

 

In January 1953 a remarkable discovery was made in the Burgundy region of France: the first complete Iron Age (800-250 BC) burial (Figure 1).  The excavation took place quickly but haphazardly, and it yielded various more amazing discoveries, including a burial full of lavish and foreign grave goods.  It also led to a continued controversy: who is buried in the tomb? Is it an elite female or a transgender male? Today’s blog post will address the controversy concerning the individual buried in the Vix tumuli.

 

Large tumuli (burial mounds) were constructed throughout the Iron Age Europe.  They are most often located near prominent hillforts, and they are a holdover from previous periods wherein large burial mounds were also constructed.  At the site of Vix there are several tumuli, but the one that receives the most attention is the more recent, Iron Age one.  It contained at the time the most intact burial, dated tow 500-480 BC.  The burial contained one individual who was buried within a wooden wagon.  They were adorned with various gold, slate, and amber personal adornments, including two bracelets on each wrist, an anklet, gold plated brooch pins, leather and bronze belt, and a large and ornately decorated breast plate.  The breast plate was constructed of gold and molded with various images, including a Pegasus (winged horse), predatory cat paws, and poppies.  The interred individual was also accompanied by fantastic artifacts made of bronze, silver, and ceramics.  The most prominent, however, was the largest bronze krater to be discovered (even to this day), which had been filled with mead (Figure 2).  All together the burial goods suggested that this was a high-ranking individual who had the power and/or wealth to import elaborate goods from the Mediterranean. 

 

Figure 2: Vix Krater

 

Initial osteological analyses of the individual determined that this was a female aged between 30-35 years of age.  The archaeologists at that time were hard pressed to believe that this was, indeed, a woman.  It is believed that their ethnocentric biases would not allow them to accept the presence of elite women being treated so well in their deaths, so they ultimately concluded that this was a “transvestite male priest” (note, that was the acceptable term at that time).

 

Some 30 years later a reanalysis of the remains took place.  Unfortunately, it is unclear if the remains were poorly stored or in poor condition at the time of discovery (as archaeological methods were not the same as modern day methods).  The reanalysis acknowledged that the osteological remains were incomplete, with various elements missing or partially in-tact.  The reanalysis led to a different conclusion on sex, however.  The definitive sex determination was thrown out and replaced with the assessment that this was an indeterminate individual.  The partial cranium and pelvic bones demonstrated both masculine and feminine traits. 

 

The anomalous sex determinations, however, were not brought to light for another ten years when Bettina Arnold presented her research on the Vix burial at the University of Calgary.  She asserted that based on comparative analysis of various other Iron Age burials, which included samples of male and female tombs, that the Vix individual was a female based on the specific types and placements of the personal adornments associated with the body, as well as the lack of weapons found within the tomb itself.  This, however, was not without question as there were some definitive male burials that were also discovered without weapons.  Additionally, Arnold noted that the osteological assessment was partially inconclusive due to a lack of population specific sex assessment standards.  She noted that this individual could be classified as either a robust Nordic female or a gracile Mediterranean male.

 

Ultimately, no definitive conclusions about the sex or gender of the Vix burial has been reached.  Some contemporary scholars are calling for a reanalysis of the burial and remains.  They request that the burial and remains be reevaluated without prejudice or bias, noting that gender roles and identities may have been vastly different from today.  This means that there is a potential for elite females to have been lavishly treated in death, while also allowing for the possibility of transgendered identities to have existed in the past, as well.  Hopefully with greater awareness, a more culturally relativistic approach, and modern analytical methods a more definitive answer can be reached.

 

Bibliography

Arnold, B. (1991). The Deposed Princess of Vix: the Need for An Engendered European Prehistory. The Archaeology of Gender: Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Conference of the Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary (pp. 366-374). Calgary: The University of Calgary.

Knüsel, C. J. (2002). More Circe Than Cassandra: The Princess of Vix in Ritualized Social Context. European Journal of Archaeology, 275–308.

Lewis, C. (2022, September 25). Impact on Gender Roles in Archaeology. Retrieved from Real Archaeology: https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2022/09/25/impact-on-gender-roles-in-archaeology/

Weismantel, M. (2013). Towards a Transgender Archaeology: A Queer Rampage through Prehistory. In S. Stryker, & A. Z. Aizura, The Transgender Studies Reader 2 (pp. 319-334). New York: Routledge.