Rome, June 1: The perfectly preserved skeleton of a ?bejewelled lady of rank?, who possibly ruled Rome two centuries before the supposed founding of the city by Romulus and Remus, has been discovered by archaeologists beneath the Forum.

The woman, dubbed ?Queen of the Latins? or ?The Lady of the Forum?, was buried with a beautiful amber necklace, bronze brooches and a ring-shaped bronze ornament to hold her plaited hair in place. She was described as ?physically harmonious? with ?perfect teeth?.

Anna De Santis, an expert on the prehistorical period and part of the archaeological team which made the discovery, said that the woman clearly had ?high social status?.

She was probably the wife of a tribal chief of the Latins, a farming and trading people who lived in the Rome area in the 10th and 9th centuries BC.

The find caused great excitement in the Italian press.

?Rome?s First Lady has come back to life after three thousand years,? said Corriere della Sera. ?We can easily imagine her luminous smile, which has survived even death,? said La Repubblica.

The skeleton was found almost intact in clay in a narrow tomb beneath the Forum of Julius Caesar, which dates to the 1st century BC.

Archaeologists have found growing evidence of a sizeable 10th century BC necropolis beneath the Forum since digging began in the area in January.

Five tombs have been unearthed so far, but all contained urns with the ashes of the dead.

Roberto Meneghini, who directed the excavations, said that the woman in the tomb was ?about 30? and 5-foot-4-inch tall.

She had been lowered into the narrow tomb in robes or a shroud pinned together with the brooches. Scientists will examine the remains to find out how she died.

Eugenio La Rocca, Superintendent of Culture for Rome, said: ?It allows us to evaluate the importance and extent of the people who originally inhabited Rome.?

He believed the people buried in the necropolis lived on nearby Capitol Hill, which later became the site of the Temple of Jupiter and the focus of Roman power.