Archaeologists have recently discovered two skeletons in Mantua (you know, the local of Romeo and Juliet). Now, while not an everyday experience, the discovery of skeletal remains is still not top news. These skeletons, however, are engaged in an activity not yet seen; they are hugging. The remains have been tentatively identified as a young man and a young woman; they are facing each other, arms wrapped around the other. My first thought was that this was extremely sweet. And I wondered if they had died in this fashion, or if people had placed the couples' arms around each other at burial.
Then I read the hypothesis of how these two died. It is believed that the man died from the arrow in his spine. The woman has an arrow in her side. For some reason though, scientists do not believe that the man and woman were shot at the same time and died holding each other. This would be a sweet, romantic situation (excluding of course the painful, slow death from blood loss). But this is not the case according to scientists' theory. They think that the man was shot and died and that the woman was then killed so that the man's soul would not be alone in the afterlife.
Not quite so sweet to say the least.
At least it's not to me...even if the woman acquiesced to the sacrifice. Then again, when Romeo kills himself because he believes Juliet to be dead, and then Juliet wakes up and kills herself because Romeo is dead...I don't have any tears in my eyes.
Because of various beliefs about the afterlife, it wasn't unusual for people to be sacrificed to accompany a dead person on their journey to the underworld. Households of servants were killed in ancient Egypt when their owner died so they could serve him in the afterlife. And yet I have difficulty wrapping my mind around this idea. I am too far removed from the religious beliefs that warrant this activity.
Whatever the facts though, it should still be recognized that this is a couple who have been holding onto each other for 5000 years. That is impressive.
I had mixed emotions when I saw the picture this morning. I'd prefer to believe that this is the physical remains of an ancient love story but, like you, I have to believe that the woman involved had little choice in the matter...a sad thing to contemplate. But what a find for the diggers! I do find it to be fascinating.
ReplyDeleteSo, what is the 5000th anniversary? Platinum? Gold? No, it must be something even more valuable ... is it the Crude Oil Anniversary?
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