Scythian mummy tomb (Fifth Pazyryk Kurgan), Pazyryk culture 4th-3rd C. BCE

March 21, 2021

Scythian mummy tomb (Fifth Pazyryk Kurgan), Pazyryk culture 4th-3rd C. BCE

"The pair were buried alongside nine horses, a huge cache of cannabis and a stash of priceless treasures - including the world's oldest carpet and an ornate carriage.

The man had curly hair and was aged between 55 and 60 when he died, whilst the woman was about ten years younger.

It is believed he was a chieftain or king of the Pazyryk civilisation, which lived in Kazakhstan, Siberia and Mongolia from the 6th to 3rd centuries BC."

...

"The attractive log cabin was a prefabricated construction by the prehistoric Pazyryk culture to house an elite tomb - in which was buried a mummified curly-haired potentate and his younger wife or concubine.

The mound in the Altai Mountains was originally 42 metres in diameter, and this tattooed couple went to the next life alongside nine geldings, saddled and harnessed.

The house itself, recently reconstructed, was not built as a dwelling but nevertheless is seen by archeologists as showing the style of domestic architecture more than two millennia ago.

This structure was the outer of two wooden houses in the large burial mound in the valley of the River Bolshoy Ulagan at an altitude of around 1,600 metres above sea level.

The core of the mound including the ice-preserved bodies of the elite couple had been excavated by Soviet archeologists in 1949, and many of the finds are on on display in the world famous State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

As we have previously written, the pair - who owned perhaps the world’s oldest carpets - are currently undergoing an ultra modern medical scan to establish the cause of death, and reconstruct the appearance of the ancient pair, and to study the techniques of mummification in more detail.

Yet in 1949 this fascinating house was left in the permafrost ground - and only retrieved now from the so-called Fifth Pazyryk Barrow, to the excitement of archeologists.

Head of the excavation Dr Nikita Konstantinov from Gorno-Altaisk State University, was full of admiration about the skills of the ancient craftsmen.

‘We took out the log house and reassembled it right next to the mound,’ he said.

‘We made kind of express reconstruction, which made it possible to study the log house in detail.

‘Notches were made on each of its logs - building marks…’.

This was like IKEA instructions today for building their products, telling modern day excavation volunteers how to correctly construct the prehistoric building kit.

The result is seen in the pictures shown here.

‘This log house was first built somewhere away from the mound, then it was dismantled, brought and reassembled in the pit,’ said Dr Konstantinov.

‘Today we build in similar way, using Roman numerals, as a rule.

‘In those times they simply made different numbers of notches.’

The archeological team followed the code left by the ancient craftsmen and reassembled the house without problems.

‘The Pazyryks knitted the corners of the building in a masterly way and chopped the attachment points of these logs.

‘They fitted very cleanly….

‘When we built the log house and began to measure the height, it turned out that the height difference in the angles is only one centimetre.’

In modern constructions, a difference of 7 cm is allowed which showed how skilful were the ancient craftsmen.

He said: ‘This is a funerary structure, but we can say with a high degree of probability that the log cabin was created in the image and likeness of the houses in which the Pazyryks lived."

-taken from siberiantimes and thesun links below

Male Scythian mummy. "The Pazyryk civilisation mummified dead people in a similar way to the Egyptians. Mummification essentially involves the preservation of dead people's skin and organs.Bodies are typically exposed to embalming chemicals, dried out or frozen in some way, thus preventing them from decaying any further.The Pazyryk people were particularly brutal when mummifying their dead: removing the brain through a hole in the skull, pulling out organs and then stuffing the body with horse hair." - taken from thesun article below

Male Scythian mummy.

The reconstructed Scythian house/tomb from 2,300 years ago.

Overview of tomb.

Location of tomb in red.

Chariot preserved in tomb.

Carpet fragments.

Possibly the world's oldest carpet. Look up "The Pazyryk rug, Scythian 5th-4th C. BCE" on this blog for more details. I had posted on this earlier.

Large sarcophagus.

Look up "Goddess Tabiti and Scythian rider, tapestry from the Fifth Pazyryk Kurgan 3rd C. BCE" on this blog for more details. I had posted on this earlier.

On woman's left forearm is a complicated - and unusual for this culture - scene with two tigers and a snow leopard attacking deer and moose. Pictures: Lyudmila Barkova.

Male tattoos: feline predator on the right shoulder, images of birds on his hands and ungulates on the leg. Pictures: Lyudmila Barkova.

On woman's left forearm is a complicated - and unusual for this culture - scene with two tigers and a snow leopard attacking deer and moose. Pictures: Lyudmila Barkova.

Excavation.

Layout of tomb.

Excavation.

Reconstruction of house/tomb.

Excavation (in Soviet times?).

Chariot parts.

Researchers investigating cause of death.

Fifth Pazyryk kurgan. Tattoo of the man according to the publications of L.L. Barkova and S.V. Pankova.

Carriage (reconstructed from dismantled pieces). Wheel diameter 150 cm.; axle length 3.1 m. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, pp. 232-235; Rudenko 1970, pp. 189-193, pl. 129, 131; Hermitage Museum.

Swan, decoration on felt rug of carriage. Excavated 1949. Felt, L. 35 cm. Inv. no. 1687/262. Pub.: Rudenko 1968, fig. 77, p. 86; From the Lands, cat. no. 118, color pl. 25; cf. Rudenko 1953, pl. CVIII; Rudenko 1970, pl. 166; Hermitage Museum.

Bridle, possibly for draught horse. Leather, wood, gold. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, pl. LXX/1-2; Rudenko 1970, pl. 118/A-B.

Bridle and stag decoration of horse head. 5th riding outfit. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, pp. 210-212; fig. 127, pls. LXVIII, LXIX, LXXI; Rudenko 1970, pp. 171-174; fig. 87, pls. pls. 116, 117, 121C-D.

Saddle blanket (shabrack). 4th riding outfit, felt. 65 x 233 cm. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, p. 210; pl. CIII; Rudenko 1970, p. 173; pl. 162.

Covering for felt saddle-cloth, possibly of Chinese origin. 5th riding outfit. Embroidered silk. Rudenko 1953, pp. 214-218, figs. 129-132, pl. CXVIII; Rudenko 1970, pp. 174-178, pl. 178.

Saddle cover but with various decorative hangings not shown. 5th riding outfit. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, pp. 210-218, esp. fig. 128; Rudenko 1970, pp. 172-177, esp. fig. 88. Individual parts of decoration shown in separate plates.

Saddle-blanket (shabrack). 2nd riding outfit, felt. 70 x 236 cm. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, p. 208; pl. CI; Rudenko 1970, p. 169; pl. 160; Charrière, fig. 120.

Covering for felt saddle-cloth (shabrack), possibly of Middle-Eastern origin. 1st riding outfit, Fine wool. W. min. 60 cm. Pub.: Rudenko 1953, p. 207; pl. CXVII; Rudenko 1968, pp. 73-79; Rudenko 1970, p. 168; pl. 177.