In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I thought I would share an interesting article !
ROME (Reuters) – Call it the eternal embrace.
Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other.
“It’s an extraordinary case,” said Elena Menotti, who led the team on their dig near the northern city of Mantova.
“There has not been a double burial found in the Neolithic period, much less two people hugging — and they really are hugging.”
Menotti said she believed the two, almost certainly a man and a woman although that needs to be confirmed, died young because their teeth were mostly intact and not worn down.
“I must say that when we discovered it, we all became very excited. I’ve been doing this job for 25 years. I’ve done digs at Pompeii, all the famous sites,” she told Reuters.
“But I’ve never been so moved because this is the discovery of something special.”
A laboratory will now try to determine the couple’s age at the time of death and how long they had been buried.
Wednesday, 7. February 2007
The precursor to Romeo and Juliet.
Wednesday, 7. February 2007
I’m not sure how this made me feel.I only know I can’t help staring,and wondering,what happend.I think it makes me sad,and yet happy or good in some way. To think, no matter how far we’ve come in “hi-tech” advances,or how civilized we believe we are,Love and the human heart, through eons of change…REMAIN THE SAME.
Wednesday, 7. February 2007
David, it makes me feel the same way too! Just staring at it and wondering what happened to them 5,000 years ago.
Thursday, 8. February 2007
I am older than the previous posters. My first thought was that they could be adversaries who killed each other.
Then, with the pictures, I noticed they seem to be looking at each other face to face, not body to body, as opponents would be. A lot can happen to remains in several thousand years, though.
I’d like to think they were lovers, but maybe they were siblings executed or sacrificed together as captives from an inter-tribal war, or as victims of the same disease, or as tribal members (siblings, lovers, or friends) who died together of the same affliction. I’m thinking that the people who buried them together either made some “romantic” tribute. or they intended them as symbolic of some sort of “we’ll kill all of you, regardless” message. Who knows? It is certainly wonderful fodder for the speculation of your choice.
Thursday, 8. February 2007
After reading this I wonder if the ‘couple’ was dead prior to burial, or could they have been buried alive? It would require alot of planning to bury ‘hugging’ courpses, a bigger coffin for one, or if they where placed in a hole in the ground the arms would have fallen away from each other during the burial.
Thursday, 8. February 2007
Without knowing the exact location of the excavation site, it seems high unlikely this was a burial ground (there would be lots of remains if bodies were regularly buried in that area). It seems like they were in a sleeping position.
A venomous animal such as a snake or scorpion may have killed them in their sleep.
Or, while they were sleeping, they were killed by one or more people who might have been trying to track them down.
Or, they ran out of water and became too fatigued to travel, so they died in their sleep.
Thursday, 8. February 2007
Nice that they were together in death, but why is it legal for archelogists to dig up people just because they have been dead for a long time? This always bothers me. I don’t think they should be disturbed!!!!
Thursday, 15. July 2010
I thought pompeii was buried by volcanic ash and mud, so I assumed that people would have known they were going to die and lie down together to wait. (but scientists should know if it was during a volcanic eruption and it wasn’t mentioned here.)