Ancient 4,800-Year-Old Fossil Of Mum Cradling Baby Discovered In Taiwan

This might just be the longest hug that history has ever seen - after archaeologists unearthed a 4,800 year old fossil of a young mother and child locked in a loving embrace.

The incredible discovery was among 48 sets of remains that were unearthed from graves in Taichung, Central Taiwan - which included the final resting places of five children.

Researchers enlisted the help of carbon dating to gauge the age of the remains - and were stunned to discover that they dated back to the stone age and had been preserved for almost 5,000 years.

According to their measurements, the mother was just 5ft 2 ins, while the infant in her arms measured just over a foot and a half.

The remarkable find was just one of many skeletons unearthed after excavations began in May 2014 - but researchers say that it is definitely the most remarkable.

Chu Whei-lee, the curator of the Anthropology Department at Taiwan’s National Museum of Natural Science said: ‘When it was unearthed, all of the archaeologists and staff members were shocked.

‘Why? Because the mother was looking down at the baby in her hands.’

It’s hard to disagree with that - with the whole thing seemingly acting as an apparent testament to eternal love.