The woman, aged 35-45, was buried in a single grave. With her was a hand-made clay urn, silver wrist clasps that were used for holding back cuffs, a bronze disc, 40 glass beads, parts of a wooden bucket containing three Roman coins, and a knife.
Newark archaeologist Dr John Samuels thought the body could be of one of the original Saxon settlers in the area. It was a person of high status and there was a good chance she could have been a princess.
The find was made by Dr Samuels and his team, led by Mr Alex Russell, near the end of a two-week dig on a site around the Winthorpe Road area of the town. The excavation was carried out as a planning condition for the area before it could be developed.
Said Dr Samuels: "As often happens, it all developed quite late in the afternoon. It was quite nerve-wracking and once we found the site we had to work on late to ensure there was nothing else there."
The grave was just below the surface and Dr Samuels said he believed it had been disturbed in the 18th or 19th Century. As a result, the bones were scattered throughout the grave.
Despite that, Dr Samuels said they managed to find 98% of the skeleton.
The items have been removed and are being prepared at laboratories in Lincoln before going on display in Newark's Appletongate Museum.
Nottinghamshire County Council's principal archaeologist, Mr Mike Bishop, said it was a significant find for the region and only the second of its kind in Nottinghamshire although similar graves had been found in other parts of the country.
He said the items in the grave could mean the occupant was somebody special and the find provided new information on the status of the people living in the Newark area.
Dr Samuels is to talk on the discovery to members of the Thoroton Society at Nottingham University this evening.