At the end of our Museum of Mankind exhibition, we invite visitors to think about their own grave goods, and how future archaeologists might interpret them. This is the cutest response so far, and we love you, Lyra and Della 💓
We hate to break it to this adorable couple, but there's historical precedent that archaeologists would NOT correctly identify them as a couple. As an example, meet the Two Maidens of Pompeii.
These bodies, locked in an eternal embrace at the moment of their deaths, were first cast in the early 20th century. They were interpreted as two young, related women, probably sisters.
The interpretation of the bodies as young, related women who were probably sisters was made for several reasons: their physical size; that they were in the same house; and the fact they were displaying physical affection to one another.
A 2017 analysis of the Two Maidens, led by Massimo Osanna shot these assumption. Using advanced scanning and DNA analysis, two things were discovered: (1) they weren't related to one another and (2) they were probably both male.
Whatever was going on with the Two Maidens - a gay couple, one or both being trans, or simply someone clinging to the Roman equivalent of a Deliveroo driver in a moment of sheer terror - they definitely weren't sisters.
Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens all the time, because it's very difficult to know anything concrete about a person from their remains. Assumptions are made based on context and vibes... And interpreting the past goes through the lens of present-day beliefs, context and vibes.
Anyway, we love you, Della and Lyra. If you wanna have your engagement or anniversary party at the Vagina Museum, hit us up and we'll waive our usual venue hire fee because you made us so happy!
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