A new discovery at the Zeleny Yar necropolis, which shows links to Persia, will be examined in a few weeks.

Archaeologists working at the site, near Salekhard, say they suspect the remains are that of a child or adolescent from the 12th or 13th century AD Photo: Vesti.Yaмal

The expected, but still unopened, human remains are encased in birch bark and it is likely that this “cocoon” contains copper which, combined with permafrost, caused accidental modification.

Archaeologists working at the site, near Salekhard, say they suspect the remains are that of a child or teenager from the 12th or 13th century AD

The new discovery coincides with others discovered in Zeleny Yar, belonging to a mysterious medieval civilization with ties to Persia despite its position on the edge of the Syrian Arctic. If confirmed, it will be the first mystery of civilization found at this intriguing site since 2002.

Alexander Guseʋ, a member of the Research Center for the Study of the Arctic, said: “We have decided, after consulting with our colleagues, to take the find as a whole piece, that is, without opening it in the field, and bring it to the city for carry out more investigations.” .’

CoproƄations with a metal detector show that there is indeed metal beneath the birch bark. The ‘cocoon’ of birch bark measures 1.30 meters long and about 30 cm at its widest part.

‘Follows the contours of the human body. If there really is a problem, it is important that the head and skull are in good condition. We think it’s a child, maybe a teenager. The find is now in Salekhard, in the Sheмanoʋsky Museum, in a special freezer. We plan to return to Salekhard on July 15 and immediately begin opening the “cocoon”.

‘The find is now in Salekhard, in the Sheмanoʋsky Museum, in a special freezer. We plan to return to Salekhard on July 15 and immediately begin opening the “cocoon”. Photos: Vesti.Yaмal

Anthropologist Eʋgeniya Syatoʋa will be among those examining the discovery that experts hope will shed light on this tribe and its origins. She is the leading archaeologist of the Scientific and Production Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Sʋerdloʋsk region.

“The мммification was natural,” Mr. Guseʋ said. “It was a combination of factors: the bodies were covered with copper sheets, parts of copper boilers and, together with the permafrost, this damaged the conservation effect.”

Local television Vesti.Yaмal arrived at the scene when the discovery was made. The images of him show how they remove him from the ground.

Previously, archaeologists found 34 shallow tunnels at the medieval site, including 11 bodies with shattered or missing skulls and mangled skeletons. Five shells were found to be wrapped in copper, and also elaborately covered with reindeer, beaver, wolverine or bear skins. Among the tunas found so far there is only one woman, a girl, with her face covered by copper plates. There are no adult women.

Three children’s masks with copper masks, all ʋarons, were found nearby. They were bound in four or five copper rings, several centimeters wide.

Likewise, a red-haired man was found, protected from his chest to his feet by copper plates. In its resting place was an iron axe, skins, and a bronze buckle representing a bear.

Five shells were found to be wrapped in copper, and also elaborately covered with reindeer, beaver, wolverine or bear skins. Images: The SIƄerian Tiмes, Natalya Fyodoroʋa

All the feet of the deceased point towards the Gorny Poluy River, a fact to which religious significance is attributed. Experts are unaware of funeral rituals.

The artifacts included bronze bowls originating in Persia, about 6,000 kilometers to the southwest, dating to the 10th or 11th centuries. One burial dates back to 1282, according to a study of tree rings, while others are believed to be older.

The investigators found next to one of the adult mummies an iron coat knife, a silver medallion and a bronze bird figure. They are understood to date from the 7th to 9th centuries.

Unlike other burial sites in SiƄeria, for example in the permafrost of the Altai Mountains, or those of the Egyptian pharaohs, the purpose did not seem to be to morph the remains, hence the claim that their preservation until the ancient times moderns was an accident.

‘A red-haired man was found, protected from chest to toe by a copper plate. In its resting place was an iron axe, skins, and a bronze buckle representing a bear. Images: Kate Baklitskaya,  Go East

The soil here is sandy and not permanently frozen. A combination of the use of copper, which prevented oxidation, and a decrease in temperature in the 14th century, explains the current good state of the remains.

Natalia Fyodoroʋa, of the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, previously said: “Nowhere in the world have so many mummified remains been found outside of perafrost or marshes.

‘It is a unique archaeological site. We are pioneers in everything, from removing the object from the sandy soil (something that had not been done before) to ending the possibility of further investigation.’

In 2002, archaeologists were forced to stop work on the site due to objections from locals on the Yamal Peninsula, a land of reindeer and energy riches known to locals as “the end of the earth.”