Italian archaeologists say they have found a well preserved, 3,000-year-old skeleton of a woman during a dig in the Roman Forum in central Rome.

The Bronze Age skeleton dates to at least 300 years before the traditional date used for the founding of Rome, 753 B.C., the BBC reported Wednesday. Archaeologists said it has long been known Bronze Age people lived at the site that was to become Rome.

Archaeologist Anna De Santis, who took part in the dig, told the BBC the woman was about 30 years old, when she died. De Santis said it is an unusual discovery, since it was customary for most prehistoric people to cremate their dead.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International