Breaking News: Siberian ‘Sleeping Beauty’ – 2,000-year-old mummy found in reservoir

Archaeologists are hailing the extraordinary find of a purported “Hunnic woman” with a jeweled jet buckle on her beaded belt. After a drop in water levels, the well-preserved mummy was found this week on the shore of a giant reservoir on the Yenisei River, upstream of the massive Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam, which powers Russia’s largest power plant and the ninth-largest hydroelectric power station in the world.

The old woman ʙᴜʀɪᴇᴅ wore a silk skirt to the funeral meal and took a bag of pine nuts with her into the afterlife. Her birch bark make-up box contained a Chinese mirror. Near her remains – accidentally ᴍᴜᴍᴍɪғɪᴇᴅ – was a Hunnic-style vase.

A team of archaeologists from the St. Petersburg Institute of the History of Material Culture (Russian Academy of Sciences) working on the coast of the Republic of Tuva discovered a rectangular stone construction that looked like a burial site. “The mummy was in fairly good condition, with soft tissues, skin, clothes and belongings intact,” said a scientist.

Natalya Solovieva, deputy director of the institute, said: “On the mummy there is what we believe to be silk clothing, a beaded belt with a jet buckle, apparently with a pattern. Archaeologist Dr Marina Kilunovskaya said: “During excavations, the mummy of a young woman was found on the shore of the reservoir. “The lower part of the body was especially well preserved…

“This is not a classic mummy; in this case, the burial was tightly sealed with a stone lid, allowing for a natural mummification process.” It was ʙᴜʀɪᴇᴅ between 1,900 and 2,000 years ago, scientists believe before carrying out extensive tests.

Remarkably, the remains were preserved despite being underwater for periods since the dam came into operation between 1978 and 1985. Dr Solovieva said: “Near the head was found a round wooden box covered with birch bark, in which there was a Chinese mirror in a felt case.” Near the girl were two vessels, one of them of the Hunnic type.

“There was a funeral meal in the jars and a bag of pine nuts on his chest.” Restoration experts began working on the mummy. The analysis of the find is expected to provide a wealth of information about his life and times. The scientists received a grant from the Russian Geographical Society to rescue these unique archaeological finds in flooded areas.