Archaeologists recently discovered an ancient artefact during excavations. They found an incredibly rare ancient comb made from a human skull. It has been dubbed the Bar Hill Comb and was found by scientists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).
Archaeologists wrote in the release that it is an incredibly rare find, adding that it may shed light on cultural practices in Iron Age Britain (750 BC - 43 AD). The comb was unearthed at Bar Hill, 4 miles northwest of Cambridge. The comb was among 280,000 items of interest collected between 2016 and 2018 during the A14 improvement scheme.
MOLA Finds Team Lead, Michael Marshall called the Iron Age discovery "truly astonishing". He said, "t is possible this fascinating find represents a tradition carried out by Iron Age communities living solely in this area of Cambridgeshire. To be able to see such hyper-local influences in groups of people living over 2,000 years ago is truly astonishing."
He added that the 'Bar Hill Comb' may have been a highly symbolic and powerful object for members of the local community.
The team has been analysing artefacts recovered during the archaeological excavations that preceded the construction of the 1.5bn Pound National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme, reported BBC.
Mr Marshall suggests that if these objects were not meant for practical use as combs, perhaps the carvings were meant to represent the natural sutures that join sections of the human skull.
The Bar Hill Comb will now be kept at the Cambridgeshire Archaeology Archive, the main repository for the material found as part of archaeological fieldwork in the county.
