Skeletons of couple buried together from over 1,500 years ago discovered
The remains likely belonged to a man and woman who lived during the Northern Wei period (386 to 534 CE), reports a local media in China.
Hyderabad: Archaeologists in northern China have discovered two ancient skeletons that appeared to be wrapped in an embrace. The well-preserved remains belong to a woman wearing a band on her ring finger, discovered next to a man in a sign of possible tragedy from over 1,500 years ago.
The remains likely belonged to a man and woman who lived during the Northern Wei period (386 to 534 CE), reports a local media in China.
The remains were first unearthed in northern China in 2020 as a part of the excavating project of nearly 600 tombs at a cemetery, according to the study published in the ‘International Journal of Osteoarchaeology’.
The embracing couple breathed their last in Datong, in Shanxi province, which covered much of modern-day north and central China, scientists speculated in their findings. The two skeletons were found lying on their side, and as the scientists attempted to determine the position in which the couple was buried, they stated that the two shared a deep bond as their arms wrapped around each other’s waists and the woman’s face pressed against the man’s shoulder.
“The message was clear — husband and wife lay together, embracing each other for eternal love during the afterlife,” write the authors in the ‘International Journal of Osteoarchaeology’.
An associate professor at the Institute of Anthropology at Xiamen University named Qun Zhang, who co-authored the paper, said: “During the Northern Wei era, Buddhism was popularised and people’s concepts of the afterlife became more abundant.”
Thus, it appears that the man would have died first and the woman killed herself in order to be buried alongside her partner. This theory could be proved from the notable signs of trauma that the scientists spotted on the male skeleton, while there was nothing of that sort on the woman. Another possibility is that the two died at the same time, perhaps of an illness.
Scientists also shared that the woman wore a silver ring on her left ring finger. However, the co-author mentions that the material, coupled with the ring’s lack of engravings, suggests it “did not cost that much.”
“These kinds of bands weren’t necessarily associated with love or marriage in ancient times. Given the context of the burial, however, it’s possible the ring represented the couple’s bond,” Qun said.
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