Russian archaeologists have discovered the grave of a couple in love, whose skeletons have laid intertwined with each other for 4000 years. The remains of a child were also found in proximity to them.
The find was unearthed in Rostov Oblast, near the town of Krasny Sulin. The skeletons of the couple were dug up from a mound, with the man and woman having been buried in an embrace, lying next to each other, facing each other and with their arms and legs entwined.
A few feet from the grave of the couple, the remains of a child nearly 4000 years old were also uncovered.
"I personally have not seen anything like this until now. Usually, in family burials, the woman lies behind the man's back in subordinate position and the child - behind the woman's back, while this - with their faces toward each other and entangled bodies, I have not seen. These were, so to speak, the Romeo and Juliet of the Bronze Age, " announced the Russian archaeologist Igor Gudimenko.
A team of anthropologists is yet to determine the exact age of the couple and child.
The boundless and passionate love of antiquity has also been documented from the graves of other couples in love, who have been likened to the Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet.
A few years ago, during digs near the Italian city of Mantua, the skeletons of a man and woman in a loving embrace were discovered. That sensational find was dated to the Neolithic Age - 5000 years ago.
According to some of the anthropologists' hypotheses, the man died a violent death, after which the woman killed herself, so that her soul could accompany her beloved in the afterlife.
Again in Italy, they found a similar grave, dating back 1500 years. A man and woman in love, holding hands, were unearthed near the city of Modena.
The man had a bronze ring on his hand and the woman's face was turned toward him.
"We believe they were buried facing each other. However, the man's head was turned after his death, " claimed Italian archaeologist Donato Labate.
It is believed that the man and woman were living in a local farm and were not very wealthy. Their grave was part of a necropolis, containing 11 other burial graves.
