Princess Altai’s 2,500-year-old mummy has a mysterious tattoo: Brave, good at fighting, but has a sad ending

Kane Khanh | Archeaology
August 20, 2023

The Siberian Ice Fairy, also known as the “Princess of Ukok” and “Princess Altai” of Ochi-Bala, are the names given to a 2,500-year-old female mummy found in 1993. in a kurgan (mound) of the Pazyryk culture in the Altai Republic, Russia. The discovery of this mummy is considered one of the most important Russian archaeological finds of the late 20th century.

The mummy was unearthed in 1993.

Discovering mummies is of course brought back for research, scientists have done so, but strange things have happened. On July 31, 2012, exactly 19 years after the mummy of the princess was unearthed, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred right there. Locals consider it “revenge of the mummy”!

Princess Altai. (PH๏τo: Internet)

What the hell happened?
On July 31, 1993, archaeologists accidentally discovered the mummy of Princess Altai in an underground burial chamber on the Ukok Plateau near the border of China, in present-day Altai Autonomous Republic. This plateau is part of the Eurasian Steppes which has a harsh, arid climate, a contributing factor to the good preservation of mummies.


Next to the coffin containing the mummy were found 6 horses equipped with saddles and straps and 2 warriors. This shows that the woman comes from a noble family. Princess Altai and the two warriors found with her are believed to be the Pazyryks, a nomadic tribe described by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC.

Since its discovery, the mummy has been subjected to intensive research at the Museum of the Novosibirsk Insтιтute of Archeology and Ethnology, including facial reconstruction, DNA testing and research projects. other.


According to the Siberian Times, the results of MRI analysis by two scientists Andrey Letyagin and Andrey Savelov and published in the journal Science First Hand, showed that “Princess Altai” had a primary tumor in her right breast and other parts of the body. Lymph node in the right axis has metastases. It is unclear whether cancer was the cause of her death as she also suffered from osteomyelitis, a bone infection and significant trauma, including a skull fracture, possibly from a horse fall. But one thing is for sure, this princess has endured a lot of pain.

The indigenous Altai people consider this 2,500-year-old mummy to be their ancestor. They called her Princess Kadyn (or Kydyn). In their story, the princess was a priestess who voluntarily sacrificed herself to protect the Earth from evil spirits.


Scary mysteries that have no answers
The stories surrounding the mummy “Princess Altai” mainly focus on two issues that have not yet been satisfactorily answered.

The first mystery is the tattoos on the hand of a young girl, only about 25 years old. According to historical documents, tattooing is not strange to the Pazyryks, but still no one understands what message the painting on the mummy’s hand conveys.


According to Ancient Origins, one of the most distinctive features of this mummy is her tattoos. She has tattoos on both arms, from shoulder to hand, but only the tattoo on her left arm is well preserved for scientists to study. It is a drawing of a sacred animal of the Pazyryks: a two-headed deer with a vulture’s beak, sheep’s feet, and on its back bitten by a long-tailed leopard.

The second mystery is related to the event in 2012, exactly 19 years after the mummy was unearthed, a large earthquake occurred in the area where the mummy was found.

The Altai aborigines always believed that the scientists excavating and taking the princess away made the gods angry, venting their anger on humans. It is also believed to be the cause of the 5.3-magnitude earthquake.


The reason some people believe in “revenge of the mummy” is because a similar story happened. In 2001, a pilot who flew a plane carrying the mummy of this princess to the city confirmed that on the day the princess’s body was dug up, an earthquake happened, but no one believed this guy.

On September 27, 2003, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake, the largest in more than 70 years, occurred and the connection was still not recognized.

At this time, public opinion became more and more stirred when Boris Konchev – Minister of Culture of the Republic of Altai had an accident and died on the way to bring the mummy of “Princess Altai” back home. According to them, this is the warning of the mummy.

 

Scientists ignored the objections and continued their research. (PH๏τo: Internet)

On July 31, 2012, an earthquake shook the Altai Mountains, and people raised many doubts about the curse of “Princess Altai”. Is the curse of “Princess Altai” real or just a strange coincidence? This remains a mystery with no satisfactory explanation.