A ~2800 Year Old Kiss?

So I am a little late for Valentine's Day but I came across this today and found it very interesting. At first I was skeptical about whether it was a hoax or not, but it seems to be real... this couple referred to as "the lovers" was found in 1972 at the archaeological site Hasanlu in Iran by a team from the  University of Pennsylvania and the Metropolitan Museum of New York. The skeletons were found in a bin with nothing but the stone under the left individuals head. They are believed to have died together around 800B.C. or about 2800 years ago. Because the skeletons appear to have died mid kiss it is speculated that this is meant to symbolise that love is eternal…

 I find it interesting that all the articles I found quoted that this was a “6000 year old kiss”, even though this was debunked by forensic evidence. I wonder how the rather arbitrary date of 6000 years came up? There is lots of speculation about what happened to this couple; one suggestion was that perhaps the man was killed and the woman was buried alive with him… but even through further research I could not find further archaeological evidence on the couple. Penn State published the picture and the information but I was unable to find any further information related to these individuals. Even so I still think this picture is rather romantic… in a morbid sort of way.  

 

Here’s the Wiki page about the dig:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teppe_Hasanlu

And the sites where I got the information about the picture:

http://www.hoaxorfact.com/Inspirational/6000-year-old-kiss-found-in-hasanlu-iran-facts-analysis.html

http://www.penn.museum/blog/fun/fun-friday-image-of-the-week/fun-friday-image-of-the-week-the-lovers/