Flesh disintegrated, but wreath remained: skull of crowned athlete found in Greece (pH๏τo)

Flesh disintegrated, but wreath remained: skull of crowned athlete found in Greece (pH๏τo)
A skull decorated with a golden wreath of laurel

Scientists from Greece have discovered a unique artifact in the cemetery of the ancient city of Lato in Crete – the skull of an athlete dating back to 2500 BC. The skull has a golden wreath in the shape of a laurel branch.

The wreath was preserved because the athlete’s flesh had decomposed over thousands of years. A silver coin was found in the mouth of the skull, which probably symbolized a payment to Charon, the carrier of souls to Hades, GreekReporter writes.

The skull with a golden wreath has become one of the most prominent exhibits at the Agios Nikolaos Museum in Crete.

Flesh disintegrated, but wreath remained: skull of crowned athlete found in Greece (pH๏τo)
Skull with a golden wreath. Source: Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Flesh disintegrated, but wreath remained: skull of crowned athlete found in Greece (pH๏τo)
Skull with a golden wreath. Source: Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos/A.Kouremenos

The city of Lato, where the artifact was found, was an ancient settlement in Crete. Its ruins are located near the village of Kritza. Lato was a Dorian city-state that existed in the 5th-4th centuries BC.

The skull of an athlete with a golden wreath gives an idea of the life of people in the era of antiquity. It shows that athletes were highly respected in ancient Greece.

Earlier, we told you about a Vatican researcher who claims that Da Vinci hid the date of the apocalypse in his painting of Jesus.

Related Posts

What’s in the world’s oldest cheese? These mummies are giving up their secrets

The Tarim Basin mummies were discovered wearing tiny hunks of cheese around their necks—and a new DNA analysis is revealing its origins. For millennia, the Taklamakan Desert…

The mummy returns: ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Chinese monk’s remains unveiled, in pictures

The mummifed body of of a Chinese monk called Fuhou has been unveiled at Puzhao Temple in Quanzhou city, southeast China’s Fujian province after being stored in…

Unraveling the mystery: remnants of the ancient Moche civilization with the mummified Lady Cao discovered at El Brujo

Lady Cao transcended the status of being merely one of many mummies unearthed by archaeologists worldwide. Her extraordinary remains have reshaped our understanding of ancient history and…

PH๏τos That Defy Explanation: Ancient Watches, Mysterious Figures, and Signs of Time Warps?

In the world of unexplained phenomena, a select few images stand as undeniable proof that reality, as we know it, may not be as solid as it…

New: “In Search of History” Fossil Hunters Discover ‘Rosetta Stone’ Dinosaur Skeleton in Australia’s Ancient Sea

New: “In Search of History” Fossil Hunters Discover ‘Rosetta Stone’ Dinosaur Skeleton in Australia’s Ancient Sea Introduction: In a groundbreaking discovery that has left paleontologists around the world…

2,000-year-old mummy is perfectly preserved and still has internal organs intact

The body is so well preserved, it’s similar to that of someone who had recently died. When you hear the word ‘mummy’ you probably think of a…