Lovers of Modena

The Lovers of Modena are a pair of human skeletons discovered in 2009 by archaeologists in present-day Modena, Italy. The two skeletons were buried with their hands interlocked and are believed to have been buried between the 4th and 6th century CE. Originally it was assumed that the two were composed of a male and a female, but upon scientific analysis of enamel peptides by the University of Bologna it was confirmed that the skeletons belong to two males. The pair are now on display at the Civic Museum of Modena.

The relation of the two males is unknown, but one of the researchers from the University of Bologna, Federico Lugli, suggested that rather than lovers they could have been brothers, cousins, or soldiers; he is quoted as saying in Italian, "The burial of two men hand in hand was certainly not a common practice in late antiquity.... In late ancient times it is unlikely that a homosexual love could be recognized so clearly by the people who prepared the burial.... Given that the two individuals are of similar ages, they could be relatives--for example, brothers or cousins, or soldiers who died together in battle: the necropolis where they were found could be a war cemetery”.