- Archaeologists found the child’s preserved skeleton naturally mummified in the dry cave.
- The “Cave of Horrors” takes its name from the 40 skeletons found during excavations in the 1960s.
- A CT scan revealed the child was 6 to 12 years old. The child is thought to have been a girl.
Archaeologists have discovered the 6,000-year-old skeleton of a child in the “Cave of Horrors” in Israel’s Judean Desert alongside ancient Dead Sea scrolls as well as what may be the world’s oldest basket.
The Cave of Horrors takes its name from the 40 skeletons found there during excavations in the 1960s. Researchers found the child’s remains naturally mummified in the dry atmosphere of the cave, which can be accessed only by climbing ropes.
A CT scan revealed that the child, who had skin, tendons, and even hair partially preserved, was between 6 and 12 years old, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The child is thought to have been a girl.
“It was obvious that whoever buried the child had wrapped him up and pushed the edges of the cloth beneath him, just as a parent covers his child in a blanket,” Ronit Lupu, a prehistorian at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement. “A small bundle of cloth was clutched in the child’s hands.”
The skeleton was found along with ancient Dead Sea scrolls, which are among the earliest texts ever written in Hebrew.
Read the article by Naina Bhardwaj in Business Insider Australia.