In 2018, after the water level in the giant reservoir on the Yenisei River upstream of the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam, which supplies Russia’s largest power plant, dropped, a team of archaeologists from the Institute of History of Material Culture whether St Petersburg (Russian Academy of Sciences) working on the coast in the Republic of Tyva found the mummy of an ancient woman. Then they called it “sleeping beauty”.

Before conducting a comprehensive examination, scientists believed that the “sleeping beauty” was buried about 1,900 to 2,000 years ago. What is more surprising is that the mummy was preserved quite well despite being immersed in water for a long time since the dam was put into operation from 1978-1985.

The mummy’s condition is quite good with soft tissues, especially the body part, along with clothes and furniture intact. Research institute staff said: “This is not an ordinary mummy. The burial place is tightly closed with a stone lid, proving that the mummification process occurred naturally.”

“We believe that the mummy wore clothes made of silk and a belt with beads and patterns” – Natalya Solovieva, deputy director of the research institute, said.

In addition, the “sleeping beauty” was buried with a meal and brought a bag of pine nuts to the afterlife. At the burial site, a box made of birch bark containing an ancient Chinese comb and a vase was also discovered.

According to information from archaeologists, the “sleeping beauty” was most likely a person of high status in society, possibly a noble, a member of the Hun empire that existed around the middle of the 4th century. to 6 AD.