Archaeologists in Siberia have made an interesting discovery when they unearthed a Bronze Age grave containing remains of a male and female. Buried for over five millenia, the couple were found still holding hands. Rings made of white jade and other ornaments decorated the corpses. One item had been placed in the male’s eye socket.
The bodies were discovered in an old grave overlooking the famous Lake Baikal in Siberia. The researchers believed the remains belong to an ancient dignitary and his younger wife or perhaps his concubine or favourite slave.
According to the researchers, the remains belong to high-born dignitaries of the Glazkov Culture who lived around the Baikal Lake, considered the oldest and the deepest lake in the world.
Dmitry Kichigin, an archaeologist at Irkutsk National Research Technical University, explained that valuable artifacts found in this ancient grave are considered by experts to be an offering of a religious nature, made to facilitate the dead in the afterlife. The rings found in this grave may have had a particular significance.
Dr Kichigin went on to state that the remains were discovered laying on their backs, with their heads facing West, the direction of the land of the dead. The skeletons were found holding hands. He added that researchers are currently working to establish the real purpose of jade knives found near the female body. Kichigin said that the knives are a new development in the discovery of Glazkov culture’s grave sites. He remarked that the male skeleton is relatively in a better condition than the female’s remains as the upper half of the female skeleton had been eaten away by rodents or predators.
The burial site is located in a religiously significant location. The region near the lake is long believed to have possessed immense religious significance for the ancient people. The site is also the home of a number of Neolithic remains discovered in the past by archaeologists.
The authorities have taken strict measures to keep the location of the discoveries hidden in order to avoid any ransacking of the sites by treasure hunters. While speaking to The Siberian Times, the archaeologists working at the site have made it clear that their excavation of the site is expected to reveal more hidden facts about the ancient people who inhabited the region thousands of years ago.
