Ancient Mystery Unearthed: 5,000-Year-Old Skeleton Found in Kiln Suggests Chilling Human Sacrifice in Germany
The archaeologists offered up three potential reasons for this odd variety of burial. One possible explanation is that the man was a victim of murder via a violent skull injury and that he was hidden in the pit to conceal the crime. Another potential explanation is that the man was a warrior who was quickly thrown into the kiln pit for a burial of convenience during or just after an intense battle.
The third explanation is that the man was a victim of human sacrifice who was placed in the kiln pit deliberately in a certain kind of ritual practice. The archaeological team had seen such things before in other Corded Ware kilns, but with the skeletons of cattle or dogs instead.
Although human sacrifice is a possibility, the team said that more lab analysis must be done to determine the accuracy of the theory. If, after further analysis, the human sacrifice theory does seem the most plausible, it would shed important light on the religious and ritualistic practices of the Corded Ware culture, and thus open pathways for future discoveries and research.
The excavation that found the man in Gerstewitz is set to continue until at least 2027, when the power line is expected to be finished.
After reading about the possible human sacrifice found inside a 5,000-year-old kiln, learn about history’s biggest mass child sacrifice found in Peru. Then, learn all about the prehistoric monument known as “Germany’s Stonehenge” — where ritual child sacrifice may have occurred.
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