Poland grave reveals man buried with 2 severed heads, 42 animal teeth
Archaeologists in Poland discovered a 2900 B.C. Stone Age grave beneath a Roman-period cemetery. The burial contained a man with a battle axe, animal teeth, and two severed human skulls, suggesting a high-status individual from the Corded Ware culture.
Why it matters
This discovery provides rare insight into Neolithic burial practices and the complex cultural history of Central Europe.
Archaeologists investigating a Roman-period cemetery in Poland made an unexpected discovery when they came across a burial that was thousands of years older than the surrounding graves. Instead of a Roman-era burial, they found the nearly complete skeleton of a Stone Age man who had been buried with an unusual collection of objects, including a battle axe, a flint blade, amber beads and a necklace made from 42 animal teeth. Even more striking, two human skulls were placed in the grave alongside him. The unusual combination of weapons, ornaments and human remains suggests that the man may have held an important position within his community, although archaeologists are still trying to determine exactly why the skulls were buried with him. According to Live Science, the burial was discovered during excavations of a Roman-period cemetery near Wrocław in southwestern Poland.
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