Museum puts Mrs Getty on show in coffin (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Museum puts Mrs Getty on show in coffin

A WEALTHY princess, who was found buried with her treasures near Lechlade, has been moved into the new Corinium Museum.

Mrs Getty, as she is known, will be one of the main attractions at the Cirencester museum, which has undergone a £5 million refurbishment and re-opens next month.

The princess, who gained the nickname because of her wealth, was one of 219 bodies unearthed during an archaeological dig at Butler's Field, in 1985.

Now, following expert recreation of her head, Mrs Getty appears in her coffin, complete with body, clothes and hair and surrounded by replicas of her treasure.

Cotswold District Council's head of museum services John Paddock said: "It is thought the Saxons buried their dead with treasures for use in the next life, or simply as a show of their wealth.

"Mrs Getty was clearly a woman of very high social standing. Her body was one of only two in the cemetery to be buried in a coffin."

More than 500 items were found buried with Mrs Getty, who was aged 25 to 30 when she died.

Replicas of the items, including gilt bronze brooches, silver rings, amber beads and an ivory purse ring have been placed in the coffin, while the originals, which are around 1,500 years old, are on show in a nearby display case.

CDC's cabinet portfolio holder for IT and culture John Burgess said: "We want visitors to come away from the museum with the understanding that people of the past were just like us."

The museum re-opens, following a two-year makeover, on September 15, with doubled space, more galleries and many new exhibits.