Skeletons of “lovers” were found in an ancient cemetery in Modena. Scientists have found that these are two men (and they are unlikely to have been lovers)

The skeletons of the "lovers of Modena", buried hand in hand in an ancient cemetery in Italy, belonged to two men. This conclusion was made by scientists from the University of Bologna, their study was published in the journal Nature.

The skeletons were found in 2009 in the Italian city of Modena, in a cemetery of the 4th-6th centuries AD. The people who owned the remains were buried in the same grave hand in hand. The skeletons were called "the lovers of Modena". Their sex could not be determined due to the poor condition of the bones.

Scientists from the University of Bologna have determined the sex of the deceased using a new technology based on the analysis of tooth enamel. The study showed that the teeth of both skeletons contain a protein that is present only in men.

According to scientists, the skeletons belong either to relatives, such as brothers, or to soldiers who died together in battle. They may also belong to lovers, but researchers consider this hypothesis the least plausible, since social and Christian religious restrictions in the 4th-6th centuries did not provide for open demonstration of homosexual relationships.