Skeletal remains of Queen Elisenda, one of the most powerful rulers in medieval Europe, unearthed in Barcelona — along with several others who bore unexplained stab wounds

Carved and painted sarcophagus that looks like a woman sleeping peacefully.

Archaeologists working in a 14th-century monastery in Barcelona were surprised to find 25 skeletons when they opened eight graves — including the remains of a medieval queen.

Seven centuries after Queen Elisenda of Montcada, the wife of James II of Aragon and Valencia, founded the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria Pedralbes in Barcelona, a team of experts opened her tomb to learn more about her life and about the living conditions of the 14th-century female monastic community, according to a May 28 translated statement from the Culture Institute of Barcelona.