CT scan 'Venus Willendorf': Uncovering the shocking secret of a peerless treasure

The composition of Willendorf - the strange ancient statue that has puzzled scientists for many years - is truly stunning, showing that this 30,000-year-old treasure is worth more than we ever thought. .

According to Science Alert, earlier studies have shown that the Venus deity Willendorf was carved in northern Italy, then somehow traveled hundreds of kilometers to Austria, where it was unearthed.

Goddess Willendorf

Venus is only 11cm tall with a striking figure, making anthropologists think of a symbol of fertility: exaggeratedly sculpted breasts, genitals, buttocks and legs. The statue also has an elaborate hairstyle or hat, although it has no face.

The ultimate purpose of the carving has not been determined, but it is clear that a Paleolithic artifact - dating back 30,000 years - to reach that sculptural level is extremely valuable.

CT scans reveal the statue's strange material

The material of the statue is the biggest puzzle that scientists have tried to solve. Not sculpted with ivory or bone like most statues of the era, the "Venus Willendorf" is made of oolite (eggstone), an interesting sedimentary limestone made up of spherical particles called oodis, then also dyed red with ocher.

Using micro-CT scanning, a team of scientists led by anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna (Austria) looked inside the work and discovered many surprises.

The internal structure of the rock is not uniform, but contains many layers of sediment with particles of different density and size. It also contains small fragments called limonites, an impurity that suggests the oolite did not come at all from a 200km radius from where the statue was carved.

Compared with data from ancient Jurassic rocks, scientists have found that the source of the stone to sculpt the "Villaine Willendorf" is as far as Lake Grada in Northern Italy, that is, the stone or statue has moved. from the South to the North of the Alps. If taking a detour, the journey is up to 730km.

It was an incredible journey at the time, fraught with hardships, dangers, and sometimes life, but it is clear that Willendorf was extremely well protected along the way, showing the price. sacred value of the statue. It is not excluded that the carved stone has been deliberately exploited to make this treasure more sacred.