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A 'magic wand' that is believed to be part of an ancient burial ritual 9,000 years ago in Syria has been unearthed by archaeologists.
The wand, with two human faces carved into it, was found near a graveyard in Tell Qarassa, an excavation site of an early farming settlement in southern Syria.
"The find is very unusual. It is unique," author Frank Braemer, an archaeologist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France, was quoted as saying.
The 'magic wand' was discovered near a graveyard where about 30 people were buried without their heads.
The people were the world's first farmers and consumed emmer (a type of wheat), barley, chickpeas and lentils.
"It may have been used as part of an ancient burial ritual to summon supernatural beings," said authors in an article published in the journal Antiquity.
Another possibility is that the practice was a form of ancestors' worship.
