The skeleton you see above is a museum recreation of one unearthed in Burnt City, Iran, in 2006. It belonged to a woman who lived nearly 5,000 years ago and died between the ages of 20 and 30. She appears to be a high-ranking woman of wealth. The prosthetic eye that was buried with her has been the subject of much study since then. Scientists have determined that she did wear it during her life, as she had an abscess that may have been caused by irritation, and the tissue of the eyelid was still stuck to the prosthetic thousands of years later.
The eye itself is a work of art. It is made from natural tar and animal fat, which would have lubricated it in her eye socket. A pupil and iris were carved into the round eyeball, and filaments of gold were added to recreate veins. Gold thread was also used to hold the eye in place. Small fragments of white indicate that it may have been painted to look like a real eye. It was undoubtedly an expensive prosthetic, and none have been found to be older. Wearing this eye would not have been all that comfortable, but if you were missing your natural eye, it beats developing extensive scar tissue or getting dust and dirt in one's eye socket. Who knows? This woman may have worried more about her looks than anything else. Read what we know about the world's oldest prosthetic eye at Archaeology World. -via Strange Company