A pair of mummy’s that were excavated from their graves in the Altai Mountains in 1949 are telling some of their long-held secrets thanks to some new technology.

The couple, believed to be a local chieftain from the Pazyryk culture and his wife (or concubine) remained preserved because they were encased in ice for thousands of years in the valley of the River Bolshoy Ulagan. Alongside the couple were 9 geldings, saddled and harnessed (which had been sacrificed), the world’s oldest known carpets, a wooden chariot with large wheels, and cannabis burning in the burial chamber.

The remains of the chieftain couple have been held in the world famous Heritage Museum in St Petersburg since 1949. But researchers have now scanned the bodies to reveal details about their lives

From the article:

“The Pazyryk people were part of an Iron Age archaeological culture in the 6th to 3rd centuries BC. The Pazyryk archaeological culture belongs to the steppe archeological category, which is sometimes named ‘Scythian’.

They were believed to be skilled surgeons and had knowledge of the Hippocratic Corpus, a set of ancient Greek medical texts .”

The couple are famous for both the elaborate tattoos on their skin and also the two oldest carpets in the world which include remarkable images of the life of the ancient Pazyryk culture in Siberia several hundred years before the birth of Christ.

The couple owned two of the oldest carpets in the world which include remarkable images of the life of the ancient Pazyryk culture in Siberia several hundred years before the birth of Christ
One of the carpets - 21 ft by 15 ft - was probably a wall hanging before being used as part of the burial ceremony

Tattoos on the man:

  • a feline predator (probably a tiger) and a horse on the man’s shoulder.
  • the forearm of his right hand has an Asiatic wild ass or horse and a predator with a striped tail
  • birds, including a grouse on his hands
  • below his knees are tattooed groups of ungulates

(Interestingly, in the past when Pazyryk were found with tattoos only fantastical creatures were depicted.)

Tattoos on the woman:

  • a predatory bird, killing a deer or moose on her left arm
  • a cock on her left hand
  • and on her left forearm, a complicated and unusual scene with two tigers and a snow leopard attacking deer and moose
The images depict only real animals, seen as unusual for Pazyryk remains, when often fantastical creatures have been found in tattoos

On the forearm of the right hand is an Asiatic wild ass or horse and some predator with a striped tail

On the man's legs, below the knee, are tattooed groups of ungulates, which the researchers were able to recreate (pictured right)

The tattoos on the man's hands depict images of birds, including a grouse of capercaillie

Source: Daily Mail