Under a Russian reservoir, archaeologists discovered the 2,000-year-old bones of a “sleeping beauty” who was buried with presents for the afterlife and was dressed luxuriously. The woman was unintentionally mummified since her impenetrable stone tomb naturally preserved her; she was buried wearing a silk skirt and bearing a pouch of pine nuts on her chest.
The woman was unintentionally mummified because her impenetrable stone tomb naturally preserved her body. She was buried wearing a silk skirt and had a purse of pine nuts on her bosom.
The woman’s make-up box had a Chinese-style mirror, which researchers believe was placed there to follow her to the afterlife. Other valuable objects discovered in the burial include a sapphire buckle on a beaded belt.
Archaeologists speculate she was a young ‘Hun woman’ and hope to understand more about her life as they continue to analyse the well-preserved remains.
The woman’s grave was found on the shoreline of the River Yenisei when a reservoir, upstream of the 794-foot (240m) Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectricity dam, experienced a significant drop in water level.
In the course of excavations, a young woman’s mummy was discovered on the bank of the reservoir, according to archaeologist Dr. Marina Kilunovskaya of the Institute of History of Material Culture in St. Petersburg.
The body’s lower half was very well preserved. This is not a typical mummy; instead, a natural mummification process was able to take place since the grave was tightly sealed with a stone cover.
Natural mummification, a rare process that only happens under specific situations like extremely cold or arid weather, or a lack of oxygen, preserves tissue, organs, and other material without the use of chemicals.
Natalya Solovieva, the institute’s deputy director, said: ‘On the mummy are what we believe to be silk clothes, a beaded belt with a jet buckle, apparently with a pattern.
‘Near the head was found a round wooden box covered with birch-bark in which lay a Chinese mirror in a felt case.’
Astonishingly, the grave’s contents were preserved despite being underwater for long periods since the dam became operational in the 1980s.
The woman was buried, according to scientists, between 1,900 and 2,000 years ago, however more testing is required to precisely date the remains.
Because of the discovery of a Hun-style vase close to her remains, archaeologists believe she belonged to the nomadic people that ruled most of central Europe and Asia between the fourth and sixth centuries AD.
It is thought that the Huns, who quickly migrated from China and established their short-lived empire, were a factor in the fall of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century.
The woman’s breast pouch of pine nuts, which were thought to be food gifts for the afterlife, and the Hun vase, one of two that were discovered in the burial, both contained a funeral feast.
The mummy is currently undergoing restoration, and study of the find is anticipated to reveal a wealth of information about her life and times.
“Archaeologists’ predictions are highly upbeat. Most likely, delicate fabrics, leather, and clothing details have been saved, according to a St. Petersburg Institute representative.
Scientists received a grant from the Russian Geographical Society to rescue unique archaeological finds in flooded areas.
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Source: 1stauditor.com
