The skeletal remains and skull fragments of two Bronze Age women have been found at a construction site in Great Britain
Their remains were found in Kent on a site planned for the construction of 41 houses along with animal bones, pottery and evidence of a Roman road while the necessary archaeological survey was being carried out, first reported by the BBC.
One of the women – estimated to be around 30-35 years old – was found in a crouching burial position, the report said. The position is documented back in the late Neolithic eraor about 5,500-4,700 years ago, and before the Early Bronze Age, according to grave archeology experts.
Although some archaeologists study the burial practices of the past through excavated remains, they cannot say for sure why some people were buried in certain positions.
The skull fragments discovered at the site are believed to be from another young woman from the 500s-400s. BC, the BBC reported, and Kent County Council will archive them in a museum, along with other new finds.
Previous discoveries in England have led researchers to believe that Bronze Age Britons used different methods mummify the deadincluding temporarily placing them in swamps, smoking them over a fire, or removing their organs after death.
These new discoveries of Bronze Age remains and artefacts may offer researchers a better insight into the era when people first explored the use of metals for tools, weapons, jewelery and ceremonial purposes – and mark a time when agriculture became more widespread in and around Kent, the south-east English county .