“Altai Princess” - the secrets of the famous mummy. Altai Princess - a story without end

Altai is called the “Cradle of the World,” meaning that it was from here that humanity began its journey. This sacred land still holds many mysteries to this day.

The meaning of the Turochak writings

In 1975, on the steep cliffs off the left bank of the Biya River, seven kilometers from the village of Turochak, amazing two-meter rock paintings were discovered: more than two dozen walking moose.

Stylistic analysis of the images made it possible to attribute them to the Bronze Age and, with a high degree of probability, associate them with the Karakol culture, which existed in the 2nd century BC. e. But how did these unique for Altai appear? cave drawings, is not completely clear. Distinctive Features The Turochak writings were not only the choice of characters, but also the material with which the drawings were created - red ocher, atypical for Altai petroglyphs.

The researchers were also amazed by the dynamics and expressiveness of the images, which were painted on a steep and difficult-to-reach surface. But the main mystery remains their meaning. What did the ancient “artists” try to tell their descendants?

Woman with tattoo

The sacred Ukok plateau in the south of Altai is a place that attracts both daredevils who decide to test themselves and numerous researchers. His main secret The global scientific community began to discuss it relatively recently, in 1993, when archaeologists under the leadership of Doctor of Historical Sciences Natalya Polosmak, at the excavations of the Ak-Alah burial ground, discovered a mummified body, the estimated age of which is 2.5 thousand years.

The perfectly preserved find allowed scientists to conduct a DNA examination and restore the appearance of the 25-year-old girl. Her facial features were not Mongoloid, but rather resembled European ones. Princess Ukok's waist was decorated with a red belt - a symbol of a warrior; in her hands she clutched a larch wand - an instrument of “creation of the world”, and her head was crowned with a high headdress with golden braids - an attribute of a woman possessing magical powers and keeping the secret of immortality.

On her body, tattoos of a deer-ibex with a griffin's beak, a ram with an thrown back head, and a spotted leopard, made in the Scythian "animal" style, were found. All this, as well as a leafy deck, similar to a shaman’s boat, Rotyk, and six “heavenly” horses buried here, indicated that not a common person. Altai shamans are sure that this is the body of the legendary ancestor of their people - Kydyn, with the “desecration” of whose burial all the troubles of Altai began.

Academician Vyacheslav Molodin, under whose leadership a large-scale study of the Altai highlands was carried out, is convinced that “this is not a princess, but a representative of the middle stratum of Pazyryk society” of the 6th-3rd centuries BC. e. Perhaps she was a sorceress or healer. However, who the Altai princess really was, as she was called, will remain a mystery.

The eighth wonder of the world

The Ukok Plateau has other secrets. For example, mysterious geoglyphs were discovered here - huge images that can only be viewed from considerable distances, usually from a bird's eye view. It is unclear for what purpose they were created.

The age of geoglyphs is yet another controversial issue. For a long time believed that they appeared 1.5-2 thousand years ago, but latest research showed that the time of their origin is III-II centuries BC. e. Scientists are also trying to figure out why geoglyphs have not been destroyed by geological processes over such a long period of time?

Finally, they have yet to understand the meaning of the “messages.” Although the outlines of many of them are easy to “read”, the idea of the ancient artists still remains a mystery. Scientists rightly call geoglyphs the eighth wonder of the world and continue their search, while ufologists are trying to prove their theory about the location of alien airfields in these places.

Altai stonehenge

Thousands of tourists visit the Chui steppe to see the Altai Stonehenge. Five huge boulders up to seven meters high are decorated with petroglyphs - drawings from the time of the Pazyryk culture. One of the blocks differs from the others by the crossbar placed on it, the other is made in the form of a throne-chair.

Researchers are sure that ancient shamans used this place for rituals. In this case, most likely, the stones were specially delivered from other places. A study of their structure showed that the material does not occur in the nearby mountains. According to legend, the boulders were brought by the ancient Scythians from afar, 500 kilometers away.

The age of the Altai Stonehenge presumably dates back to the 8th-6th centuries BC. e. The stones are installed in the direction of the cardinal points and, according to observations, have differently charged electromagnetic fields. Tourists who ventured into the center of the “stone fence” said that it was as if they were being sucked into a funnel. About the true purpose of the Altai stonehenge and its magical power they are still guessing.

"Denisovan" or "Altai man"

Denisovskaya Cave is located in the valley of the Anuy River, which the keepers of Altai traditions call “the path to the mysterious Belovodye”. In this world-famous archaeological site, many cultural and historical monuments were discovered. In 2009, among other finds, a phalanx of a little girl’s finger was found, and a little earlier, a molar tooth of an 18-year-old boy.

The artifacts were sent to the M. Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. The analysis showed that their owners were representatives of a new ancient human population. So far, Russian, American and Canadian scientists are finding it difficult to give an exact answer: whether we are talking about a new species or subspecies, so they use the neutral one - “Denisovan” or “Altai man”.

Supposedly a million years ago, it “deviated from the branch general development human" and evolved in an independent and, as it turned out, dead-end way.

“Denisovan” genes have not been found in any representative of modern civilization, with the exception of Melanesians, whose ancestors, according to scientists, could have had contact with “Denisovans” in East Asia.

The find completely destroyed the stereotypical idea of the ancient inhabitants of the planet and suggested that 50 thousand years ago Neanderthals lived in the western part of Eurasia, and “Denisovans” lived in the eastern part. Could they interact, and what caused the disappearance of the “Altai Man” - questions for which answers have not yet been found.

Center of the Universe

Many researchers correlate the highest Altai mountain Belukha with the sacred Mount Meru. In particular, the Russian philosopher Nikolai Fedorov tried to confirm this theory. Using a map depicting the sacred Mount Meru, dated to the 2nd century BC. e., Turkologist Murat Adzhi developed a popular hypothesis.

One of the arguments was the similarity of the location of ancient Meru and modern Belukha. At equal distances from Meru were the four then known oceans, and Belukha was equally distant from the Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Where did the fourth ocean go? It may have existed west of Belukha during Atlantean times, but subsequently disappeared. Other “evidence” includes the possibility all year round observe the Big Dipper over Altai and the consonance of the ancient name of Belukha - “Uch Sumer” - with the toponym “Meru”.

In search of freedom

In the Russian consciousness, Altai is inseparable from the legendary and mystical country of Belovodye, the abode of freedom and immortality. The popularization of the legend is usually associated with the Old Believers-runners who flocked to Altai in search of better life and showed the way to all those who were thirsty with the help of “guidebooks”, where the path to Belovodye was described in an allegorical form. Russian scientist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich associated the Slavic idea with Buddhist legends about Shambhala. He declared the unity of Altai, India and Tibet and was confident that they were components of one energy system that had been preserved since the times of Atlantis. Is it possible today to find a way to the Land of Justice and Virtue? The search for an answer to this question lies, rather, in the field of spiritual knowledge.

Altai has more than once delighted archaeologists with amazing historical artifacts, because mountain burials are perfectly preserved in permafrost. The most famous find was the burial of the “Princess of Ukok”, which, as they say in the Urals, was protected by an ancient curse.

In 1993, Novosibirsk archaeologists explored the Ak-Alakha-3 mound on the Ukok plateau, Altai Republic. The mound had long been plundered and was in a dilapidated state, and scientists did not expect anything sensational. At first they came to a ruined Iron Age burial ground, but underneath it they unexpectedly discovered another, more ancient one. The burial was untouched; its interior was filled with ice. Now archaeologists understand: the mound, contrary to their expectations, can present many surprises. The news of the discovery instantly spread around the world: soon scientists from Switzerland, Belgium, Japan and the USA, as well as journalists from National Geographic, arrived at the excavation site.

Experienced members of the expedition, led by Doctor of Science Natalya Polosmak, were curious, but in order not to damage the contents of the mound, they had to act very carefully. It took several days to, with the help hot water melt a huge block of ice. When the job was done, under a layer of ice, scientists discovered six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden block, inside of which was a well-preserved mummy.

She was a young woman about 25 years old. The body lay on its side, legs bent. The clothes of the deceased have been preserved: a shirt made of Chinese silk, a woolen skirt, a fur coat and stockings-boots made of felt. All signs pointed to the burial belonging to the Scythian Pazyryk culture, widespread in Altai two and a half thousand years ago.

Appearance the mummy testified to the peculiar fashion of those times: a horsehair wig was worn on his shaved head, his arms and shoulders were covered with numerous tattoos. In particular, on the left shoulder was depicted a fantastic deer with the beak of a griffin and the horns of a capricorn - a sacred Altai symbol.

Of course, the find caused considerable public outcry. The press immediately dubbed the girl the “Altai Princess” or “Princess of Ukok.” However, scientists considered such statements to be reckless: neither the size of the mound nor the things of the deceased (with the exception of an expensive silk shirt) indicated that she was noble birth. Although the Altai girl cannot be called a commoner. Apparently, she was the owner of some kind of “secret knowledge” - for example, a healer and a sorceress.

The mummy was urgently taken to Novosibirsk, where its study continued. Local specialists were joined by guests from Moscow - employees of the Research Institute at the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. Analysis of the remains showed that the “princess” belonged to the Caucasian race. The girl was buried several months after her death - in March-April, when her death was cut short. short life. Special balms, wax and mercury were used to mummify the body.

Local shamans said that the archaeologists did not tell them anything new: they had long known about this burial, sacred to them. The deceased, they said, is their legendary ancestor Kydyn (another name is Ochy-Bala). The body, therefore, needs to be returned from Novosibirsk to Altai and no longer disturbed. The archaeologists’ arguments that genetically “Kydyn” had no relation to the modern inhabitants of the republic did not work. Even over time, the hype around the “Altai princess” did not subside.

Before the elections in the Altai Republic, some politicians and parties promised to return the shrine if they won. In 1998, the local Kurultai, without any authority, declared Ukok a “quiet zone” - from now on, excavations here were prohibited. Numerous media outlets continued to circulate information about the “curse of the Altai princess” - they say that disturbing the peace of the mummy caused numerous troubles and cataclysms. These include the earthquake that occurred in Altai in 2003 and even the monetization of benefits.

The decision of local parliamentarians on the “quiet zone” was subsequently canceled. And in September of this year, the aspirations of thousands of Altai residents finally came true: accompanied by shamans, the mummy was returned to “ small homeland».

Now the sarcophagus with the “Princess of Ukok” is stored in National Museum named after Anokhin in Gorno-Altaisk. The museum building was thoroughly restored, and a separate extension was built for the “princess”. The sponsor of all this was the Gazprom company. The head of the company, Alexey Miller, grand opening Grateful Altai residents presented the museum with the highest republican order and presented a horse. And the orchestra performed a specially written ode to Gazprom in the Altai language.

Many people know the mummy of a woman who was found in Altai and began to bear the name Altai princess Ukok Ochy-Bala. After the princess was taken out of her natural burial place, where she had rested for more than 2 thousand years, she was moved to the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the Novosibirsk Academic Town, where she remained until 2012. Currently mummy women is in the Anokhin National Museum.

There are many rumors and rumors surrounding Princess Ukok. In fact, no one knows for sure who the Altai princess was and what her name was. Princess Ukok Ochy-Bala is the name given to the mummy by journalists and residents of the Altai Republic. Ukok - from the name of the plateau where it was found. The princess was excavated from the Ak-Alakha burial ground in 1993. Judging by how she was buried and where, archaeologists and researchers are highly likely to claim that Ochy-Bala was influential woman, which is why she received the nickname princess. Local residents believe that their ancestor goddess Kydym was found by archaeologists.

Thanks to the cold climate of Altai, Princess Ukok is very well preserved. During excavations, she was found immured in a piece of ice. Everything indicated the nobility of the person - six horses along with harness, jewelry and saddles, which were buried with their mistress, a wooden block nailed with bronze nails. The princess herself wore a silk shirt, a woolen skirt, felt socks, a fur coat and a wig. In addition, numerous tattoos were found on the young woman’s body. Apparently, the princess was buried in the 5th-3rd centuries BC, when the Pazyryk culture was developed in Altai. The princess died in at a young age, when she was about 25 years old.

Video. Scientists have reconstructed the appearance of a woman who lived 2,500 years ago:

Documentary. Revenge of the Altai Princess:

In this article we will try to touch on a topic about which a lot has been written, said, reported, and even filmed. We will not look for exact and unambiguous answers to the many questions that arise in connection with this story. Our task is to look at this story from a different angle, as abstractly as possible and without taking it out of the general context.

year 2009. Hollywood. Performing Arts Championship. Talented participants take to the stage one after another, showing national costumes, performing music, and dancing. They reveal folk spirit and special energy hidden behind the external surroundings. More precisely, this surroundings are national costumes, folk traditions in the performance of music, songs are harmoniously combined with a spiritual component. 54 countries of the world are represented here, including 4 regions of our country.

Cheynesh Baytushkina, the daughter of the Altai people, represents the Altai Republic. Holding her breath, she walked onto the stage in complete silence. Her outfit is truly unusual. Particularly impressive is the tall and complex headdress and tattoos on the shoulder. The girl is dressed in a reconstructed outfit of the famous Princess Ukok. Famous for many, but perhaps not for everyone present in this room, not for all members of the jury. The archaic comus turned out to be the addition that made this picture complete. The jury could not resist - the Altai Republic, represented by Cheinesh, received three gold medals and the title of absolute world champion, winning in the “Instrumentalist” category original genre" And " National Costume" The story of the Ukok Princess received such an unusual continuation.

The burial of the Altai Princess was found in 1993 on the Ukok plateau. Since then, debates have not subsided about the significance of this discovery, about the status of the Princess herself, and in general - what to do next, how this story will end and whether it will end at all.

Ukok Plateau

So, the Ukok plateau. The first thing to say. The term “plateau” is not entirely correct here. It is more correct to say “plateau”. Lost in the south of Altai, at the junction of four states: Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan, this unique natural territory is one of the most mysterious and enigmatic. The southern border is the grandiose domes of the Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola massif, the northern border is the valley of the Dzhazator River. In the east there is the Sailyugem ridge and the upper reaches of the same river Dzhazator. The Dzhumalinsky springs are the actual eastern border of the plateau. It is more difficult to determine the western borders. There is no consensus here. They are lost somewhere in the upper reaches of the Kara-Alakha and Koksu. But this situation with ambiguous definition of boundaries is quite common. Try to draw a clear boundary between Altai and Sayan Mountains!

Two basins, Kalgutinskaya and Bertekskaya, are the heart of Ukok. And often they are called Ukok! This is where the main archaeological sites are concentrated. The territory of these valleys is significantly lower (2200-2400 m) than the surrounding ridges (3000-4000 m). Since ancient times it was used for cattle breeding, “it was residential.” And this is where the versions begin. According to one of them, Ukok has always been a holy place, inaccessible. Moreover, people were brought here for burial. It was a kind of cemetery - the acropolis of Altai and not only. In particular, this applies to the Scythian time. But there are other opinions.

Without begging for the peculiarities and uniqueness of Ukok, it is worth noting that in Altai there are quite a few other places where historical monuments are concentrated. This includes the Chuya steppe, the Chuya valley, the Pazyryk valley, the Karakol valley, etc. There are no less, but in some places even more monuments. There are no less places with a large concentration of mounds (and other artifacts) throughout the Altai-Sayan territory. And another thing that often doesn’t fit in our heads is whether a holy, sacred place can be used for life, and not just for “death.” Of course, in Altai there are places that the local population has been prohibited from visiting since ancient times. Is this what the Ukok plateau is like? In the Altai worldview, “ordinary” life and sacred rituals always coexist well. Moreover, both nature and home are a temple. Therefore, perhaps Ukok was the “heavenly pasture” that people dreamed of. It’s the same as Belovodye for Russians. Both are intended for life, but a pure and righteous life, a life of prosperity.

Kobdinsky tract

Now about something else - about the inaccessibility of Ukok. When you drive along the Chuysky tract, you think that traveling around Altai has always been so easy and pleasant. Today, the roads are quite well-maintained and the Chuisky tract, in fact, connects “east” and “west” (even if only in a local sense). But it is less than 100 years old, and before that there was the impassable Chuya trade route, not only inaccessible for wheeled travel, but also dangerous for movement on horseback. On the way there was the muddy Seminsky Pass, the steep Chike-Taman, deadly booms and crossings on the Katun, and then on the Chuya. One of the boms on the Katun - Kor-Kechu - is translated as “disastrous crossing”. Of course, Altai was not a dead end in the connections of neighboring regions. But the movements could not be widespread and easy. Altai was a kind of “fortress” where one could sit out. Ideas, foundations, and orders were “preserved” here. But here, as history shows, they originated.

The territory of Ukok is located in the extreme south of the Altai Republic, but hardly in the center of the Greater Altai, the ridges of which extend into Kazakhstan, China and especially deep into Mongolia. Today there are only three roads on the plateau: through the Bugymuiz (Bugumuyus) pass, through the Teply Klyuch pass and through the old Teply Klyuch pass. They all come from the north and are quite complex. You can drive along them only 2-3 months a year and then with significant difficulties. Off-road vehicles and experienced drivers required. The other two routes, through the Ulan-Daba pass from Mongolia and the Ukok pass from Kazakhstan, are closed today due to the lack of border crossings. But they are the key ones in the topic that we want to touch upon.

The Mongolian route was previously used by border guards - this makes it much easier to get to the outposts located on Ukok. From the Kazakhstan side, archaeologists climbed Ukok when they were doing excavations. All this is said to mean that this Mongolia-Kazakhstan through route was and is relatively simple for east-west travel. At one time it even received the name Kobdinsky tract. From Mongolian Kobdo (Khovd) the route passed through the territory of Ukok and further to the Bukhtarma region and the Irtysh region. Later it was the Chinese postal route. And in Soviet times, cattle were transported along this route from Mongolia to Semipalatinsk, to the largest meat processing plant in the USSR. The Kobda tract, which existed since ancient times, was nothing more than the northernmost branch of the Silk Road. And it was a fairly busy “highway”.

This is where the question arises: did people live here or did they just move around and use it for burials? Many Ukok tracts (such as Bertek) are covered with good grass and rich in salt marshes; they are excellent winter pastures. Not much snow falls on the open mountain plain, and even that is soon blown away by the wind. The wintering quarters of the shepherds are located along the edges of the valley at the northern and southern bases of the mountain slopes, where there is protection from wind and bad weather. Every year, about 20 families of shepherds live on the Ukok plateau in autumn and winter. Most of them are from Jazator. And each of them has tens and hundreds of animals - sheep, horses, cows and yaks. Herds graze only in their own territory, the border of which runs along a stream, lake or cliff. Ancient pastoralists grazed cattle here for a long time.

Excavations

Summer 1993. Ukok. Excavations of a small mound are underway. It was plundered in ancient times and later severely damaged during the construction of the road. This was the burial of a Karakoban warrior, in which two iron knives, two clay vessels, and fragments of gold foil were preserved. Three horses were buried with him. This could have all ended there, but Natalya Polosmak, who led the excavations, showed intuition not only in choosing this mound, but in digging further. And then came the most interesting thing - the log house, the permafrost. And that meant a lot. This meant that the lower burial was untouched and could become a real discovery. The burial chamber was opened for several days, gradually melting the ice, trying not to harm the contents. At the very bottom of the pit stood a burial chamber made of larch, decorated on the outside with leather appliques depicting deer. Behind its northern wall lay the skeletons of six horses. Only a person of very high social status could possess such a number of riding horses.

In front of the sarcophagus there was a dish on which lay a piece of meat with a bronze knife stuck into it, vessels made of wood, horn and ceramics. The Princess's body was practically untouched by decay. She was tall, wearing a worn silk shirt and a red and white woolen skirt wrapped around her hips. On her belt hung a bag with cosmetics and a silver mirror in a wooden frame. On her feet are high felt boots, and in her ears are gold earrings. On her shaved head, under a 90 cm high headdress, she wore a horsehair wig. Her arms were covered with elaborate tattoos, and next to her stood a cup of coriander seeds.

According to many evidences, strange things were observed during the excavations. natural phenomena in the form of a small earthquake and thunder. By a strange coincidence, none of the machines at the disposal of archaeologists turned out to be in working order. The archaeologists and their finds were evacuated home in two helicopters. Between Barnaul and Novosibirsk, the helicopter in which Natalya was flying with the mummy made an emergency landing - one of the engines stalled. We got to Novosibirsk by car.

Mound

The Princess Mound is quite modest in size - only 18 m in diameter. The royal mounds in Altai reach 50 m in diameter or more. On the same Ukok there is more than one mound with dimensions significantly larger than 18 m. If we take into account the entire territory of the Altai-Sayan, then the sizes of the largest burials cannot be compared at all. 120 m – the size of the largest Scythian mound in this territory, located in the “Valley of the Kings”, in Tuva. You can read about this in an article in one of the issues of the online magazine “ARU-KEM” (). The peculiarity of the Princess mound was that it was a double burial. And this doesn't happen very often. Often relatives were later “buried” in the mounds, but this is radically different from our case. The upper burial was independent, it seemed to hide what was below.

In the same Tuva, in the same “Valley of the Kings”, the Arzhan-2 mound was opened in 2002, where the undisturbed burial of the king and queen was found. Archaeologists have never seen such wealth in the Scythian mounds of Siberia. It became even unclear how to count gold items. The clothes were covered with thousands of gold plaques, and the pants were covered with countless small gold beads. Gold items accumulated by 20 kg. Burial of the Princess in in this case looks very modest. But, as befits persons close to the cult, her clothing and accompaniment are, first of all, sacred meaning. And six golden horses and a unique headdress. Clothes made of the finest silk, a material practically never used in these parts, are framed by a thick red belt. Archaeologists believe that such a belt is a sign of a warrior and initiate. And the larch stirring stick found in her hands is an extremely important ritual symbol: even in pre-Buddhist times, such sticks were considered an instrument for the creation of the world and were placed in the hands of the highest divine persons. And, of course, tattoos and the ritual of mummification are unique - more on that below.

Unique headdress

A few words about the unique headdress. And again, the reader will not be amazed by how much gold was allocated for its production, the point is different - its size, complex design and, of course, impressive appearance. The wig headdress took up almost a third of the deck. It must be said that in ancient times it was the headdress and hairstyle that carried the most significant information about a person; each tribe had its own shape, and a person’s status within the tribe could be “read” by his jewelry. The shaved head of a Pazyryk woman was covered with a wig consisting of a felt cap, onto which a special plastic material was applied. Wooden ornaments were sewn to the wig and covered with gold foil. At the crown of the head, the hair was specially collected into a bun, on top of which a “cone” made of red woolen threads was placed. The cone was crowned by a wooden deer standing on a ball, all covered with gold foil. Another carved deer with a forked body and ibex horns “lay” on a wig in front of the “cone”. At the back of the “cone”, a tall vertical structure made of felt was attached to the wig in the form of a rectangle with rounded edges (61 cm), covered with black woolen fabric, which, apparently, was a symbol of the “tree of life”: wooden deer “grazed” at its foot, and at the top Fifteen composite wooden birds with leather wings, tails and legs, and long necks, like swans, were attached to the parts. All figures are made of cedar and covered with gold foil. In addition, a pointed cap made of felt, 84 cm long and with wide brims, was found in the log house, which in some cases was worn over a complex hairstyle.

Mummies

How unique is the fact of mummification in world culture and the culture of the Scythians? Many mummies have been found in the world. This is separate and big topic. Here it is only worth saying that there is both natural and ritual mummification. Often a mummy is preserved thanks to their combination. And this is exactly our case. The woman's brain, internal organs, ribs and sternum were removed, the skull and abdominal cavity were filled with a substance like peat, sheep wool, horse hair, roots, sand and clay. Another nuance is that embalming was not some kind of privilege of the nobility - ordinary soldiers were also embalmed. In addition to sacred reasons, there may have been quite natural ones. Embalming the dead was a necessary part funeral rite among the Pazyryk people. The fact is that they buried their dead only twice a year - in the spring or early summer, and in the fall, that is, six months often passed from the moment of a person’s death to his burial. The construction of the mound, where a lens of permafrost was created - ice that preserved the burial for thousands of years - played an additional, and possibly decisive role in its preservation.

The Princess's mummy has gained particular fame, but is she alone among the archaeological discoveries of the Scythian world of Siberia? Far from it! Mummies have been found in Altai burial mounds before, many of which are now kept in the Hermitage. But in Soviet times due to the inaccessibility of conservation technologies, all of them were not preserved so well - they darkened and dried out. First of all, this applies to discoveries in the Great Pazyryk mounds. On that Ukok plateau, 2 years after the discovery of the Princess’s burial, in 1995, at the Verkh-Kaldzhin-ll monument, a male mummy with a perfectly preserved hairstyle and a tattoo of a huge “Scythian” deer on his shoulder was found. The warrior was buried in clothes, with a full set of weapons and in a magnificent sheepskin coat, decorated with leather appliqué and a wide “tail”.

Later, a discovery was made, better known as Cleopatra's Beads. Not far from the village of Manzherok in the Altai Republic, Novosibirsk archaeologists discovered in a mound from the Scythian period the mummy of a woman wearing beads around her neck. According to archaeologists, the beads were made in Egypt during the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty there. This assumption allows us to make original technique bead making, which was practiced by the Egyptians at that time.

In 2008, a Scythian warrior was found in Mongolian Altai, in an intact burial mound, in a zone close to the glacial one. The warrior, who was obviously rich, was covered in beaver and sable furs, as well as sheepskin. The intact skin on his upper body is covered in tattoos. But the most striking feature of the mummy was the hair: the man turned out to be distinctly blond. True, the hair could turn yellow after death. Two horses with richly decorated saddles and bridles, weapons, vessels made of clay and animal horns were placed in the grave next to the warrior to accompany him into the afterlife.

Most of the mummies of the Scythian-Siberian world are located high in the mountains, in conditions where permafrost persists. And just recently, in the Rubtsovsky district Altai Territory, in one of the Royal mounds of the Bugry monument, a unique mummy of the Scythian period was discovered. In this case, everyone was surprised by the preserved manicure on the woman’s hand. The body of a woman who died in the 4th century BC was well preserved by clothing covered with copper plaques, the oxides of which help preserve organic material. This is one of the few, if not the only, finds of mummies made in Siberia in the forest-steppe zone.

Another male mummy was found back in 1969 in Khakassia. The “Oglakhta” man belonged to the Tashtyk archaeological culture, widespread in the Minusinsk Basin about two thousand years ago. The mummies from Khakassia had tattoos. And more on this later.

Tattoos

The tattoos on the mummy from Khakassia were visible to the naked eye. But extensive research was not carried out on the find, and once she was in clothes, she did not immediately show the tattoos to the world! There were tattoos on the mummies from the Pazyryk burial mounds, but they were barely visible on only one of them. And then they didn’t pay much attention to this fact either. The issue of tattoos became more acute after the discovery of the same Princess. Several tattoos on her were so clearly visible that this issue received new impetus for research. The Princess has both arms tattooed from her shoulders to her hands. Images are also applied to some phalanges of the fingers of both hands. Drawings of blue color stood out well against the white skin, but they were preserved only on the left hand, on the right - only fragments on the wrist and thumb. On the left shoulder there is a picture of a fantastic animal - a deer with the beak of a vulture, the antlers of a deer and a capricorn - the Altai long-eared griffin. The horns are decorated with vulture heads; a similar head is placed on the back of the animal, which is shown with a “twisted” body. Below, a ram is depicted in the same pose with its head thrown back; at his feet is the closed mouth of a spotted leopard with a long curled tail.

This discovery prompted scientists to resume research into tattoos on previously found mummies. And by luck, a method was found for detecting them on fairly decayed skin. The already mentioned mummy from Khakassia was examined and photographed in reflected infrared rays. The same was done with three mummies from the Second and Fifth Pazyryk mounds. It turned out that all the mummies have tattooed designs. The method works thanks to the soot contained in the dye used for the tattoo. In the photographs, the dark skin of the mummies looks very light, and the tattoos stand out contrastingly and clearly. Mummies found later in Ukok and the Mongolian Altai also had tattoos. But still, the most beautiful, mysterious and obviously endowed with a special sacred meaning the tattoos belong to the Princess. This was another reason to talk about the special status of women. Although no one has yet explained the exact meaning of the drawings.

The story continues

A special surge of interest in the Altai Princess occurred after the earthquake of 2003. Then the local population accused archaeologists of terrible events nothing more than the consequences of excavations at Ukok. Since then and to this day, disputes have not subsided about who this woman was and the fact that she needs to be returned to the Altai Republic. And the demands to return here have different “shades” - from the fact that the mummy needs to be buried again in the mound to the fact that it should simply be in Gorno-Altaisk. We will not go into these disputes. Moreover, the author does not want to discuss such subtle issues in this article. Perhaps this is a matter for future articles.

What is the actual state of affairs today? Now the mummy is in Novosibirsk, in the museum of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences. Work on its study continues. But already in 2012 she should return to the Altai Republic. Today, the national museum in Gorno-Altaisk is being reconstructed, a special extension is being built, where the tomb itself will be built. Conditions will be created here to ensure the safety of the mummy as a cultural and biological object. The money was allocated by Gazprom, which is lobbying for the construction of a gas pipeline through Ukok. Never ending, one story leads to the next.

We did not touch upon such issues as the racial origin of the Princess, her place in Altai legends, the ethical issues of excavations, or the question of whether she could have been a “princess” at all. Last question It especially irritates scientists, since the status assigned by the press does not fit into their ideas. But we are not scientists - it’s easier for us. But the most important thing is that such discoveries excite society, raise acute and important questions. The story continues!

Video materials on the topic of Ukok and the Princess:

Princess Ukok

Experts suggest that this is what Princess Ukok looked like during her lifetime

Princess Ukoka (Altai princess, Ochy-bala) is the name given by journalists and residents of the Altai Republic to the mummy of a woman found during archaeological excavations at the Ak-Alakha burial ground in 1993. This is one of the most significant discoveries of Russian archeology at the end of the 20th century.

History of the find

Photo of the mummy of Princess Ukok

The peoples living in the Altai Mountains were known already in the second half of the 6th century BC. e. Herodotus wrote about them and called them “vultures guarding gold.” Also, ancient Chinese sources mention the “territorially close population of Altai.” The study of the “frozen” graves of Altai began in 1865 by V.V. Radlov.

Excavations of the Ak-Alakha-3 mound on the Ukok plateau (Altai Republic), in which the so-called princess was buried, began in 1993 by Natalya Polosmak, an archaeologist from Novosibirsk, Doctor of Historical Sciences. The mound was a dilapidated monument, which in ancient times they tried to rob. In our time, the monument was destroyed due to the construction of border communications. By the beginning of the excavations, the mound was in a semi-disassembled state and looked ruined: in the sixties, during the conflict with China, a fortified area was built in this area, the materials for which were taken from the mounds.

An Iron Age burial was discovered in the mound, under which there was another, more ancient one. During the excavations, archaeologists discovered that the deck in which the body of the buried woman was placed was filled with ice. That is why the woman’s mummy is well preserved. The lower burial was walled up in a layer of ice. This aroused great interest among archaeologists, since in such conditions very ancient things could be very well preserved.

The burial chamber was opened for several days, gradually melting the ice, trying not to harm the contents.

In the chamber they found six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden larch block nailed with bronze nails. The contents of the burial clearly indicated the nobility of the buried person.

Research has shown that the burial dates back to the period of the Pazyryk culture of Altai and was made in the 5th-3rd centuries BC. Researchers believe that

Modern populations of the North Altai anthropological type, which include the Northern Altaians, Teleuts, Mountain Shors, as well as the Baraba Tatars of late times, are descendants of the carriers of the Pazyryk culture.

An analysis in 2001 showed that representatives of the Pazyryk culture are closest in mitochondrial DNA to modern Selkups and Kets.

Appearance

The mummy lay on its side with its legs slightly pulled up. She had numerous tattoos on her arms. The mummies were wearing a silk shirt, a woolen skirt, felt socks, a fur coat and a wig. All these clothes were made of very high quality and indicate the high status of the buried person. She died at a young age (about 25 years old) and belonged to the middle strata of Pazyryk society.

Location

The mummy is kept in the Anokhin National Museum (Altai Republic, Gorno-Altaisk) in a sarcophagus with equipment for maintaining and controlling special temperature and humidity conditions. A special extension was built for the exhibit.

Public opinion

This fact caused discontent among a certain part of the Altai people. From their point of view, the “Princess of Ukok” should have been returned to Altai: some believed that it was enough to return the mummy to the territory of the republic, while others believe that it should be buried again in its original place.

Opinion of Vyacheslav Molodin

Film "Revenge of the Altai Princess"

Alena Zharovskaya’s film “Revenge of the Altai Princess,” shown on ORT, is characterized as far ahead of the republican newspapers in terms of the amount of gags and mystical nonsense .

Notes

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2010.

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