The loving embrace of a mother and her son has lasted 4,000 years, as Chinese archaeologists discovered when they discovered their intertwined skeletons.
It is believed that the mother was trying to protect her son during a powerful earthquake that hit central China’s Qinghai province around 2000 BC.
The remains were unearthed at an Early Bronze Age archaeological site called “Eastern Pompeii,” People’s Daily Online reported.
Heartbreaking: Skeletal remains show mother kneeling on the ground with her arms around her son in central China
PH๏τographs of the skeletal remains show the mother looking up while kneeling on the ground, hugging her young son. Archaeologists say they believe her child was a boy.
Another pair of hugging skeletons was also found in the same place, this time lying on the ground. Other piled-up remains have also been discovered.
The incredibly well-preserved site shows a tragic image of people trying to save their families in the midst of a terrible earthquake.
The Lajia site is the largest disaster excavation site in China at nearly 40,000 square feet and was first discovered in the early 2000s.
The excavation site is of particular historical importance because it contains clues to an early Bronze Age civilization that lived in the upper Yellow River region. The team of archaeologists presented their findings at an academic conference in northwest China’s Gansu province earlier this month.
The skeletons are now displayed in the Lajia Ruins Museum.
