Scientists unearth ancient royal tomb in remote Siberia harbouring remains of 18 horses sacrificed during grim rituals
SCIENTISTS have found an ancient royal tomb from 2,800 years ago filled with the remains of decayed horses.
The site was found in Siberia and unearthed 18 horses found ritualistically sacrificed and buried with an unidentified ‘elite individual’.
This burial appears to be related to a group called the Scythians, who have remained shrouded in mystery despite modern science.
The kurgan, or large burial mound unearthed in Tuva, dates to the transition between the Bronze and Iron ages.
A report published into the eerie find details the Scythian burial practices – which included mummification for an afterlife and removing the entrails of the corpse.
The account also reports that the elite individual who was found in the pit was buried with at least one other sacrificed person, an unidentified woman.
Some of the horse skeletons revealed the animals were found with brass bits lodged between their teeth, which could suggest some form of ancient headwear they had on as they were buried.
Study coauthor Gino Caspari said: “The tomb Tunnug 1 is an elite burial of the highest order.
“Our paper mentions 18 horses; however, in the meantime we have uncovered dozens more.”
They also had very specific approaches to the burial process.
The Scythians buried their dead and marked their tombs with burial mounds.
They would remove the body’s entrails and replace them with straw before sewing up the cuts with animal tendons.
Small holes were also carefully cut in the sides of their skulls and the brain matter was also replaced with dry straw.
Due to their belief in the afterlife, the deceased were accompanied by a range of personal items.
This was presumably so they could take them into their next life.
These personal items could include personal ornaments, mirrors, low tables, braziers, knives, leather bags and pouches.
They could even be buried with their animals, which is why the Siberian burial site uncovered the remains of the horses.
The personal saddle horses of the deceased would be killed and left with their owners in their graves.
The horse corpses were lowered with ropes into the grave pit and laid beside their deceased owner.
It is quite likely that some were gifts left by different horse-breeding tribes, meaning not all of them were related.
The deceased were also left food offerings, which were often some form of meat.
At a burial site called Pazyryk, the burial pits could be up to 46 metres across to accommodate everything that was buried with the body.
Who were the Scythians?
The Scythians were a diverse but culturally related group of nomads who occupied large areas of grassland that stretched from north of the Black Sea to China.
Scythian culture flourished from about 800 B.C. to about A.D. 300.
They were known to many ancient civilizations, including the ancient Greeks, Persians, Romans and Chinese.
They had a reputation for ferocity in battle and were masters of hit-and-run battle tactics.
The Scythians were famous for their practice of tattooing.
Designs of real and mythical animals, many in highly stylized patterns, were especially prominent on arms and legs.
Their origins remain up for debate even today.
According to the fifth-century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus, the Scythians originally inhabited Asia but were pushed west by a hostile tribe.
In a different story, Herodotus tells how the Scythians were the descendants of the mighty hero Heracles and a creature who was half woman and half snake.
The full story is not yet known and still debated, despite genetic studies revealing a great deal about them.