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The hugging couple are the first double burial
found from the Neolithic period [Reuters] |
Archaeologists in Italy believe they have discovered an example of eternal love after the discovery of two skeletons buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, hugging each other.
Elena Menotti, who led the team on its dig near the northern city of Mantova, described the find as "an extraordinary case".
"There has not been a double burial found in the Neolithic period, much less two people hugging, and they really are hugging," she said.
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 said.
"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.