Mystery Of The Lost Arctic Civilization- Two Ancient Mummies Found At The Zeleny Yar Necropolis

AncientPages.com - Some years ago, archaeologists discovered ancient copper mummies that revealed a mysterious lost medieval civilization once lived on the edge of the Siberian Arctic.

At the Zeleny Yar medieval necropolis, archaeologists have now found more mummies that may shed new light on the puzzling Arctic civilization.

Zeleny Yar necropolis is an archaeological complex first discovered in 1997. Over the years, several graves have been discovered here and scientist think the unearthed lost medieval civilization is linked to Persia.

In 2015, scientists found several ancient copper mummies and now they have unearthed the mummified remains of an infant and an adult.

The remains were wrapped in birch bark and thick fabric. The adult is covered with copper plates from head to toe. The infant is covered with the small fragments of a copper cauldron.

Researchers transport one of the newly discovered mummies from the site. The remains will be taken for scientific analysis. Findings will be presented in November. Image credit: Yamal-Nenets Automomous Region Government

This year's field season has been highly successful. We've opened ten graves, five of which were never looted in ancient times. For a memorial like Zeleny Yar this is unusual," expedition head Alexander Gusev, a researcher from the Scientific Center for the Study of the Arctic (SCSA), said.

One of the mummies discovered at the Zeleny Yar medieval necropolis in 2015. Yamal-Nenets District Museum

"When we saw that the adult's burial cocoon was in good condition, we couldn't risk opening it on the spot. To avoid spoiling the fabrics, we extracted it inside its soil shell," said Yevgenia Svyatova, an anthropologist from the Center for Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments.

One of the copper mummies found in 2015.

The infant will be sent in its burial cocoon to the Institute of the Development of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in Tyumen within days.

See also:

Discovered Near Arctic: Mysterious Lost Medieval Civilization And Puzzling Ancient Mummy

Remarkable Discovery: 2,000-Year-Old Mummy Shroud Found In Museum Collection

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Researchers from Seoul National University  will take histological, parasitological, paleo-DNA and other samples for study. Both finds will be subjected to computer tomography to identify the condition of the remains and presence of ritual artifacts inside the cocoons.

Five of the ten discovered grave had not been looted for their grave goods. Scientists found several valuable objects placed with bodies in ancient burials. Hopefully examination of these ancient artifacts can give a better insight into the history of the mysterious Arctic civilization that lived in this region between the eighth and 13th centuries A.D

Findings will be presented in November.

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