Archaeologists have discovered “female” remains in an all-male monastic community in Mount Athos, Greece that has banned women and even female animals (except for cats) since the 10th century.
The remains – which were beneath the stone floor of a Byzantine chapel – are believed to be the first-ever female remains found there, leading some to wonder whether an important woman died on the land or whether a transgender man might’ve been among the mountain’s earlier monks.
Archaeologists say they found a forearm, shinbone, and sacrum (tailbone) that were shaped differently from the remains of six other men buried under the chapel floor.
Phaidon Hadjiantoniou, the architectural restoration expert who discovered the remains while conducting conservation efforts at the historic chapel, said that the remains had been moved from another burial site and wouldn’t have been relocated under the chapel floor unless they belonged to especially important people, reports The Guardian.