Sinuous Stone-Age snake sculpture unearthed in Finland
Scientists are trying to understand the meaning and purpose of the unique discovery, which comes from the site of a 4,000-year-old lake shore.
Snakes have been feared, revered, and depicted in art throughout human history—whether in the pantheon of Egyptian or Aztec gods, or the ancient snake goddesses of India and the Mediterranean.
Now, the latest addition to the world’s gallery of ancient snake art comes from the waterlogged fields of Finland.
The unique, 4,000-year-old wooden artifact was discovered last year at Järvensuo I, a site in southwest Finland that encompasses a stretch of peat and mud, according to an article published today in the journal Antiquity.
The 21-inch-long snake figurine was found roughly a foot and a half down in a peat layer at the site, lying alone on its side.
