The practice of burying lesser individuals alongside their elongated-skull rulers in British long barrows actually preceded similar Egyptian retainer burials (~3,100 BC) by about 200 years! When British retainer burials stopped, Egyptian ones were at their peak. This parallel suggests genuine cultural exchange between these distant societies rather than simple one-way influence. Photographic evidence of these skulls exists from the 1920s.
British retainer burials with elongated skulls preceded Egyptian practice by ~200 years
Key facts
- When an elongated skull individual (king or high priest) died, lesser skull people were ritualistically killed and placed in the tomb with them
- British retainer burials with elongated skulls preceded Egyptian retainer burials (~3,100 BC) by approximately 200 years
- The cessation of British retainer burials coincided with the peak of Egyptian retainer burial practices
- A long skull from 10,000 BC was photographed as evidence
- Photographic evidence of these skulls exists from the 1920s onwards
- Similar trait to ancient Egypt's retainer burials suggests possible cultural communication between Britain and Egypt, rather than one-way influence from east to west
Site mentioned
📍 Long barrows of Britain
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.