Possibly the oldest baby grave ever found in the Netherlands was discovered in Nieuwegein, containing the remains of an 6000-year-old infant in mother’s arms.

Archaeologists noticed that he right arm of the 30-year-old woman’s skeleton was bent at a strange angle. It was crooked instead of straight – the usual posture of other skeletons at the site. Closer inspection showed bone fragments of an infant by her arm and revealed that the woman was buried carrying a baby. The bone fragments sent for analysis included a tiny jaw holding several baby teeth. From this, scientists concluded that the infant had died when it was just a couple of months old. Further DNA tests will reveal whether the woman was the infant’s mother as well as the sex of the baby. Archaeologists state that this 6000-year-old find is the oldest baby grave ever found in the Netherlands.

(after Gemeente Nieuwegein & International Business Times)