Archaeologists excavating the inner courtyard of a former Dominican monastery in Cluj-Napoca have been left baffled after discovering the bodies of a young couple who were buried holding hands.Experts from the Cluj-Napoca Institute of Archaeology and History of Art have already uncovered several bodies from what they believe was the former cemetery of the monastery but were baffled when they came across the double grave dating back to the Middle Ages.
Main researcher Adrian Rusu said: “It is a mystery – and rare for such burials at that time. We can see that the man had suffered a severe injury that left him with a broken hip from which he probably died.
“We believe the injury was caused after he was hit by something very blunt and hard. Because of the fact that the young woman obviously died at the same time and was presumably healthy we are speculating that she possibly died of a broken heart at the loss of her partner.
“Suicide is unlikely as it is regarded as a sin and it’s unlikely she would have been buried in such a holy place if that was the case. They were obviously buried together as a tribute to the love they had for each other.”
They estimate that the two bodies were buried somewhere between 1450-1550 according to Rusu, who said the body of a child was also found in the grave although this may not have been linked to the pair.
