Posted on 12/17/2009 5:36:03 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Proof that pre-historic people placed bunches of flowers in the grave when they buried their dead has been found for the first time, experts have said. Archaeologists have discovered a bunch of meadowsweet blossoms in a Bronze Age grave at Forteviot, south of Perth... Pollen found in earlier digs had been thought to have come from honey, or the alcoholic drink mead but this find may finally rule that theory out. Dr Kenneth Brophy, from the University of Glasgow, said the flowers "don't look very much. Just about three or four millimetres across. But these are the first proof that people in the Bronze Age were actually placing flowers in with burials." The dark brown heads were found, along with a clump of organic material which archaeologists now say is the stems of the flowers. The bunch had been placed by the head of the high-status individual known to have been buried in the grave. Diggers also found pieces from a birch bark coffin in the grave, and a bronze dagger with a gold hilt band... The finds all come from a bronze age grave - or cist - excavated by the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow. The site was marked by an avenue of oak posts, and large earthworks. More digs are planned in the area next year, when archaeologists will try to confirm if a sandstone slab found nearby was part of a stone circle.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
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Hmmm, almost as old as the ordered world.
“But will you still respect me in the mourning?”
Guess these customs go back just about forever.
Helen Thomas’ Prom Corsage.
I was going to say wedding bouquet but that works.
bookmark
(whoops)
Grave discovered at royal centre[Scotland]
BBC | 11 Aug 2009 | BBC
Posted on 08/16/2009 6:49:37 PM PDT by BGHater
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2317586/posts
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