Venus of Piatra Neamț: Archeological Marvel or Elaborate Hoax?

It was 21 June 2019 when 19-year-old Andrei Șmeu noticed the figurine within the mud. “I discovered a statue! It appears to be like like [the Venus of] Willendorf! She has that very same coiffure,” he exclaimed, quoted later by journalists from the native newspaper, Libertatea.

As a excessive schooler, Andrei had been helping archeologists on the Piatra Neamț website with their excavations. Within the earlier days, the location, situated in northeast Romania, had been inundated with heavy rains and flooding that the archeologists had a hunch would possibly assist with the excavation.

So, archeologists Marin Cârciumaru and Elena Cristina Nițu rushed to the place Andrei held the figurine in his arms. Its sight was revolutionary: not within the hundred years for the reason that discovery of the well-known Venus of Willendorf, now stored within the Pure Historical past Museum in Vienna, have we seen the same statue in such a fine condition.

Venus of Piatra Neamt: Willendorf style sufferer

Additional analysis has proven that the figurine is 17.2 thousand years outdated, as dated by two separate laboratories, one in Măgurele close to Bucharest and one in the US, each utilizing the so-called Carbon 14 technique. The Venus of Piatra Neamț is ten centimeters tall and carved in sandstone. In distinction to different physique elements, its overdeveloped breasts and buttocks recommend it was a logo of fertility.

The invention was introduced half a yr later by the Museum of Human Evolution and Expertise in Paleolithic in Targoviste. Their model of the story omitted Andrei and attributed the invention to the overall “analysis group.” However the questions began anyway.

Asking questions had been journalists from Libertatea. Per their data, archeologists had left the location after the flood, permitting two excessive schoolers to proceed the excavation. Alarmed by the boys’ presence, skilled researchers got here to the location just a few hours later. They allegedly took Venus of Piatra Neamț to the resort for the night time and returned the subsequent day to stage the invention and take images. Confronted by journalists, Marin Cârciumaru admitted to the staging.

Don’t ask the lady about her age

Because it appears, the trouble served the aim of validating the invention. If made by unattended untrained amateurs, it could be simple for the scientific neighborhood to miss or outright deny. Regardless of the story, we nonetheless find yourself with the priceless discovery of an nearly untouched 17 thousand-year-old Venus statue.

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The issue is that the courting – carried out by two separate, unbiased laboratories utilizing state-of-the-art gear – doesn’t match the type. Carved in limestone and painted crimson, the Willendorf statue is at the very least 21 thousand, probably as much as 30 thousand years outdated. Venus of Piatra Neamț is meant to be 17 thousand years outdated. Meaning the 2 statues had been carved hundreds of years aside; thus, one would possibly anticipate extra stylistic modifications. Then once more – the date is scientifically established. What occurred on the Piatra Neamț website? Possibly we’ll get to understand it later.