The mummified bodies of an adult and an infant, all encased in copper, were recovered after decades of being frozen in the Siberian tundra.
The recent discovery comprises two mummies covered in thick fabric material, fur, and tree bark, with the adult encased in copper plates and the baby packed with copper kettle parts, according to the governor of the Yamalo-Nenets District. Copper was known to be utilized to help protect the body due to its antibacterial characteristics. As a result, the ashes were naturally “cooled” by the permafrost in this very chilly corner of the earth.
The bigger of the two mummies is around 170 centimeters (5 feet 7 inches) tall, indicating that it is an adult. The smaller one suggests that the baby is probably less than 6 months old.
An anthropologist from the Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments, Evgenia Svyatova, noted in a statement that the team has yet to unravel the remains for fear of disturbing the body and exacerbating the tissue situation.
Archaeologists discovered mummies beside a century-old monument in a remote region of Siberia, just outside Salekhard. This settlement is located on the coast of the Kara Sea in the Arctic Ocean, thus its average annual temperature of -5.72°C (21.7°F) should come as no surprise.
The couple will now be checked in a clinic, where they will be exposed to genetic testing, forensic analysis, and historical research. The project’s researchers intend to discuss their findings at a symposium later this year in Salekhard.
The skeletons’ ages have yet to be determined. The archaeological site, on the other hand, is assumed to have been most active in the Middle Ages in the 13th century. The bodies are the most latest in a lengthy series of mummies discovered at the Zeleny Yar archeological site since 1997. Researchers uncovered 47 graves between 2013 and 2017.
Despite the fact that this endeavor has revealed a lot of information, nothing is known about the individuals who lived in the area hundreds of years ago. Previously, archaeologists discovered copper bowls from Persia in the 10th century in Iran, some 5,950 kilometers (3,700 miles) distant. The connection between this Siberian civilization and Persia is unknown, but hopefully future web development will throw some light on the subject.
