An apt story for Valentine’s Day. Some have wondered if the Neolithic skeletons discovered in Valdaro, Italy belonged to a pair of passionate, star-crossed lovers entwined in death. Others see mortal enemies in a death grip. Whoever they were, they have been immortalized – locked in a petrified embrace for some 5000 – 6000 years.
VALDARO, Italy, Feb 12 – Italy won’t split up its Stone Age "lovers." In a Valentine’s Day gift to the country, scientists said they are determined to remove and preserve together the remains of a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, their arms still wrapped around each other in an enduring embrace.
Instead of removing the bones one-by-one for reassembly later, archaeologists plan to scoop up the entire section of earth where the couple was buried, they told Reuters. The plot will then be transported for study before being put on display in an Italian museum, thereby preserving the world’s longest known hug for posterity.
More importantly, it will give scientists a chance to figure out what was has become one of Italian archaeology’s greatest mysteries: the first known Neolithic couple to be buried together, hugging.
Was it a sudden death? A ritual sacrifice? Or maybe they were prehistoric, star-crossed lovers who took their own lives.
That is a crowd-pleasing theory in these parts, since Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was set in nearby Verona.
The rest of the story in Scientific American here.
Accidental Blogger 
5 responses to “An Eternal Embrace”
After reading the story in the news last week, I was certain I’d see racks of V-Day cards sporting this image, but such was not the case.
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Only here, Dean. One needs a certain level of sardonic detachment from popular culture.
I was wondering if Bush-Cheney ought to be immortalized similarly when their time comes.
Happy Valentines Day!
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Ruchira,
B&C have already been immortalized by Mike Luckovich’s version here!
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Oops, my error. I meant the Bush admin and Tim Russert in eternal embrace, though I suppose Luckovich could have very well applied it to the B-C combination as well!
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Yeah, the Bush administration and the media cheerleaders were in a pretty tight cinch for a while. But now of course, at least one party is trying to extricate itself from the embrace. Could say the same for the Democratic congressional leaders, including Ms. H. Rodham Clinton.
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