The emancipation of women is generally considered a modern phenomenon, but a new burial site in Lincolnshire has shown that females were already enjoying high social status, wealth and power in their own right during the Dark Ages.

Archaeologists at the University of Sheffield discovered 20 burials at a cemetery in Scremby, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire wolds, dating back to the late fifth to mid sixth centuries AD. Around half the graves were females, who were found to be richly dressed and surrounded by riches including amber necklaces, hundreds of glass beads, silver buckles and ivory clasps.

Dr Hugh Willmott, Senior Lecturer in European Historical Archaeology from the University of Sheffield, said: “What is particularly interesting is the significant proportion of very lavish burials which belonged to women.

“There are proportionally far more highly furnished female burials than you might ordinarily expect.

“These women wore necklaces made from sometimes hundreds of amber, glass and rock crystal beads, used personal items such as tweezers, carried fabric bags held open by elephant ivory rings, and wore exquisitely decorated brooches to fasten their clothing.

“In what is often seen as a very masculine ‘warrior’ society, the women were clearly held in high regard.”