German archeologists have unearthed the skeleton of a man who lived around 4800 BC in a village in Lower Bavaria.
The grave goods suggest he was probably a kind of village elder or even an early "mayor", which makes it a very special excavation, according to archeologist Florian Eibl, who told Reuters Television: "It is a body burial that was placed in the grave with many grave goods, a lot of pottery, about four times the normal amount for this period."
According to Eibl, these are status symbols that would probably only have been owned by high-ranking individuals.
The skeleton was discovered during construction work in mid-April 2024 and locals now call it the "Exinger" in reference to Exing, a district of the town of Eichendorf where it was excavated.
"Unfortunately, the skeleton is not in good condition. It's been badly damaged by the soil chemistry and of course we can't make the kind of statements we can about a mummified body like the famous 'Oetzi'," said Eibl.
Archeologists can determine the age of a skeleton mainly from the pottery used as grave goods.
According to anthropologist Chiara Girotto, the man was about 1.70 metres in height, unusually tall for the time.
Due to the condition of the skeleton, it is not possible to determine exactly how old the man was when he died.
Experts believe he must have been a middle-aged man as the grave goods indicate a certain status, which had to be acquired in those times and could not be inherited.
Later on Thursday (16 May), the skeleton will be subjected to an anthropological analysis.
The Iceman, known as "Oetzi" is estimated to be 5,300 years old and was found sticking out of a glacier by two climbers in 1991 in the Oetztaler Alps on the Austro-Italian border. - report from Reuters
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