"The woman was alive when they were buried": the story of a unique 3-year of the burial of lovers in Ukraine

In 1931 in the Ukraine, in the suburban village Petrikov near the town of Ternopil, was discovered a burial ground with many burial places. All these years, been excavated, and at the moment found 183 graves. Among them, there is a unique pair burial of a man and a woman cuddles up to her husband. Experts believe that dead bodies were not to be put in such a position, and this suggests that the woman was still alive when they were buried.

Found the remains of about three thousand years, they belong to the people of prehistoric culture — Vysotskaya. The representatives of this culture lived on the territory of Ukraine in the Ternopil and Lviv region partially in the 1100-600 BC.

Professor and Director of the Transcarpathian branch of the Rescue archaeological service of the Institute of archaeology of Ukraine Mykola Bandrovsky, who led the research of the burial, said: "This is a unique grave, where a man and a woman lie together so close, hugging each other. Their faces turned to each other, and they touch foreheads. The woman lies on her back, right hand gently holding the man's left hand on his shoulder. The woman's legs compressed and are on top of crossed legs men."

However, this grave was the first in its kind, because it would be impossible to put in such a position the body. "We think that the woman was alive at the time of burial and did it voluntarily. Perhaps she followed her husband, so she didn't have to live with others and to get used to another way of life. She chose to stay with her beloved husband.""We believe that her decision was made voluntarily, it was an attempt to stay forever with her beloved".

"Maybe she drank poison to die quickly and painlessly". In Vysotskaya culture was developed the institution of marriage and the couple was clearly defined duties and responsibilities. People believed that a woman should follow deceased husband. "In the bronze age believed in eternal life after death."

Archaeologists found the burial ground can be seen in the Lviv Museum of the history of religion.