Mourners

Aromatic sage and mint linked graves were discovered on Israel's Mount Carmel.

Imprints of the stems and flowers of aromatic plants stamped into the dirt of ancient graves are the oldest definitive proof of putting flowers and fresh plants in the grave before burying the dead (here, an ancient burial pit dating to nearly 14,000 years)-a mundane practice around the world today-a new finding says.

Scented flowering plants, such as mint and sage, were imprinted in soft mud after they decomposed some 12,000 years ago in the graves located in a cave on northern Israel's Mount Carmel. Ancient mourners lined four graves with the flowers, most notably one that holds a pair.