These are the skeletons of at least six people who were present inside a 2,400-year-old tomb recently discovered in northern Iraq. Artifacts were also present, including a bracelet adorned with an image of two snake heads facing each other.
The tomb was built towards the end of or just after the Achaemenid Empire (550 BC to 330 BC), an ancient empire in the Middle East which collapsed as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great. At least six skeletons and a few artifacts were present in this tomb, including a bracelet adorned with two snake heads facing each other. » The snake head bracelet was very popular in the Achaemenid era “, as archaeologists explain to Live Science.
The state of the skeletons makes it difficult to quantify the exact number of people who were present in this tomb, which was probably the target of looters. Among the other artifacts, a pair of bronze earrings and the remains of at least 48 pieces of pottery, including five still intact, such as pitchers or pots.
This tomb probably did not house noble people. » Based on the ceramics discovered and the limited amount of metal and other objects, these people were probably more modest “, specify the archaeologists who do not yet know if these people had particular links. According to them, between 400 and 1,300 years ago, the tomb was reopened to place at least five new people there.
It was in 2013 that this grave was dug for the first time during road widening works. For many archaeologists, the preservation of archaeological sites has become essential for the survival of Iraq’s heritage, which is increasingly threatened by the destruction caused by groups like Daesh in these regions.