Tattoos and jewelry of the Altai princess. Altai princess

29.04.2019

The Ukok plateau is considered the most beautiful and mysterious place Mountain Altai. It has long attracted the attention of archaeologists - Scythian sites, burials and amazing stone altars of an ancient nomadic civilization were found there. And then one day, employees of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch Russian Academy Sciences began excavating an unremarkable mound in the Ak-Alakha river basin.

An unexpected find

When the top layer of soil was removed from the permafrost, archaeologists discovered an ancient robber's hole that led to the burial of a wealthy Scythian. He was accompanied by “essential necessities”: three horses, iron knives, clay utensils. The researchers began to carefully lift up what the robbers had not touched, and then suddenly a second one was discovered under the first burial: the remains of six horses in the richest harness and a sarcophagus with the mummy of a woman of European appearance.

Open burials were dated approximately to the 4th–3rd centuries BC. e. At the same time, the upper one was saved from plunder by the lower one, which was strikingly different in design. It was a larch frame with an area of 3.6 x 2.3 and a height of 1.1 m, simulating a dwelling and completely filled with ice. Inside there was a deck-sarcophagus in the form of a boat, 2.7 m long and 0.68 m high, made from a single larch trunk. The sarcophagus was covered with a gable lid made of the same wood, decorated with leather appliqués depicting deer. In two places the lid was nailed to the deck with copper nails, very similar to modern ones, although their age was almost two and a half thousand years.

The amount of work that was performed by the ancient builders was amazing. Somehow they were able to deliver huge logs to the Ukok plateau, hewed them, and dug a huge hole in the frozen ground. Moreover, they made an unusual crypt, whereas noble Scythians in those days were buried on a huge wooden bed, such as was found in the upper burial. Even today it is not easy to do all this!

Description of the mummy

In the deck on the right side - head to the east, face to the north - a young woman was lying on a mat of dark felt, covered with a fur blanket with sewn gold foil decorations. Her head rested on a felt pillow.

Mummy in the laboratory

The woman was wearing a knee-length silk shirt of a brownish-yellow color, woven from wild silkworm threads. All its seams, neckline and sleeve edges are trimmed with red woolen cords. But at that time, even noble Scythian warriors did not wear shirts when buried on Ukok: just a fur coat over a naked body. In addition to the shirt, the mummy was wearing a long woolen skirt, sewn from three horizontally arranged panels - two red and one white - and a belt, which was woven from a red woolen cord. Bronze pendants are sewn on the skirt. On the mummy's legs are long, above the knees, stockings made of white felt, decorated with an appliqué of red felt. Perhaps the red color in the decoration and details of clothing served as a talisman.

The woman’s neck was decorated with a wooden hryvnia with wooden pendants in the form of leopards attached to it, which were covered with gold foil, gold hoop earrings in her ears, and colored woolen threads on her little fingers.

In a nearby felt bag they found a bronze mirror in a wooden frame with a deer carved on it, a horsehair tassel, glass beads of various colors, a molar human tooth and crumbled blue powder - vivianite, a mineral dye that has been used since ancient times (in Europe it however, it became known only in the 19th century).

Most of all, scientists were amazed at the excellent preservation of the embalmed body. The mummy's brains were removed internal organs, ribs and sternum. The skull and abdominal cavity were filled with some kind of substance like peat, sheep wool, horsehair, some roots, sand and clay. On the body, covered with oils and resins with the addition of mercury, an amazingly beautiful blue tattoo was clearly visible. It completely covered the woman's hands. On the left shoulder was a fantastic animal: it looked like a deer, but with the antlers of both a deer and a capricorn; the animal’s face was completed by the beak of a griffin - a winged creature, half lion, half eagle. Each branch of the horns ended in the same stylized griffin head. In addition, there were images of a ram, a snow leopard and some kind of predator with a tiger tail and terrible clawed paws.

In the burial chamber, next to the log, they found two low wooden tables with legs, vessels made of wood and horn, two ceramic vessels with leather appliques of a rooster, leopard and griffin. On the wooden table there were supplies in long journey from the best pieces of meat: the tail end of a ram and the rump of a foal, into which a large iron knife was stuck.

The unique mummy was delivered to the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the SB RAS, and later its restoration was carried out at the Research Center of Biological Structures (Mausoleum Institute) in Moscow.

Who was she?

Mummy of Princess Ukok

In appearance, the mysterious woman was sharply different from the Scythians - tall, with delicate European features. Who could she have been during her lifetime? Where is her homeland? How did you end up in Altai? After all, judging by the wealth of the funeral “dowry”, the deceased had to occupy high position in the social hierarchy. But among the Scythians, women never enjoyed influence, not to mention power. The Scythians would never have voluntarily submitted to people from other tribes. And here there is clearly both honor and influence.

At first, the researchers decided that these were the remains of a very noble woman. With the light hand of journalists they began to call her Princess Ukok, Altai Princess or Altai princess. However, over time, the deceased was “demoted.” Deputy Director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Vyacheslav Molodin, stated that, judging by the objects found in the burial, as well as the burial ritual, ancient woman She was most likely a priestess.

However, no matter who she was, the local population throughout all these years demanded that the mummy be returned to her final resting place. The fact is that in Altai there is a cult of ancestors and it is forbidden to touch their ashes - otherwise you can anger the spirits. Princess Ukok, according to many, is the ancestor of the peoples now living in Altai, the legendary Princess Kadyn.

Moreover, the Altai people, who consider the Earth a living organism, believe that Princess Ukok is the guardian of the planet, and if she is not returned to her native places, a real catastrophe may break out. Some people even claim that they heard the voice of the Princess, who asked to be returned to her homeland.

The Curse of the Altai Princess

The deck in which the Altai princess was buried.

Meanwhile, in Novosibirsk they continued to study the mummy. For a long time no troubles occurred. Mystical events began to occur exactly 10 years after the ancient grave was disturbed. 2003, September - Altai was shaken by a terrible earthquake, the epicenter of which coincided with the very place where the mysterious ashes once rested. The earthquake was so strong that the nearby village of Beltir was destroyed to the ground.

After this, the republic was overwhelmed by new troubles: many floods occurred, and the number of suicides increased sharply. Residents of the Altai Mountains believed that earthquakes, fires and other disasters struck Altai only because the ancient tomb was disturbed. Shamans were not left out either. They assured that all these misfortunes would stop only after the shaman’s mummy returned to her homeland. After this, the government banned any archaeological work in the south of the Altai Mountains.

And so in 2012, the people in charge, as they are called there, climbed to the Ukok plateau and performed a special ceremony there. The fact is that they eventually decided to return the mummy to Gorno-Altaisk and the ceremony was carried out so that the spirits of the ancestors would ask the Princess not to be angry with those who again dared to “wake her up”, and nothing would overshadow her return. After all, 19 years ago, the helicopter on which the mummy was transported to Novosibirsk almost suffered a disaster and made an emergency landing.

Perhaps it was precisely thanks to the ritual, in which shamans from Tuva and Khakassia also took part, that the transportation went smoothly. The mummy was transported by Mi-8 helicopter in a specially equipped sarcophagus. Now the princess of Ukok will be kept in the reconstructed Republican local history museum named after A.V. Anokhin in Gorno-Altaisk. Especially for the ancient guest, a structure in the form of a burial mound was erected near the museum building, in which the sarcophagus with the mummy was placed. By last word technicians, all conditions have been created for them long-term storage. After all, no one wants to know what will happen if the princess casts a curse again...

Yu. Podolsky

Princess of Ukok

Experts suggest that this is what Princess Ukok looked like during her lifetime

Princess Ukoka (Altai princess, Ochy-bala) - the name given by journalists and residents of the Altai Republic to the mummy of a woman found during archaeological excavations at the Ak-Alakha burial ground in 1993. This is one of the most significant discoveries of Russian archeology at the end of the 20th century.

History of the find

Photo of the mummy of Princess Ukok

The peoples who lived in the Altai Mountains were known already in the second half of the 6th century BC. e. Herodotus wrote about them and called them “vultures guarding gold.” Also, ancient Chinese sources mention the “territorially close population of Altai.” The study of the “frozen” graves of Altai began in 1865 by V.V. Radlov.

Excavations of the Ak-Alakha-3 mound on the Ukok plateau (Altai Republic), in which the so-called princess was buried, began in 1993 by Natalya Polosmak - an archaeologist from Novosibirsk, doctor historical sciences. The mound was a dilapidated monument, which in ancient times they tried to rob. In our time, the monument was destroyed due to the construction of border communications. By the beginning of the excavations, the mound was in a semi-disassembled state and looked ruined: in the sixties, during the conflict with China, a fortified area was built in this area, the materials for which were taken from the mounds.

An Iron Age burial was discovered in the mound, under which there was another, more ancient one. During the excavations, archaeologists discovered that the deck in which the body of the buried woman was placed was filled with ice. That is why the woman’s mummy is well preserved. The lower burial was walled up in a layer of ice. This aroused great interest among archaeologists, since in such conditions very ancient things could be very well preserved.

The burial chamber was opened for several days, gradually melting the ice, trying not to harm the contents.

In the chamber they found six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden larch block nailed with bronze nails. The contents of the burial clearly indicated the nobility of the buried person.

Research has shown that the burial dates back to the period of the Pazyryk culture of Altai and was made in the V- III centuries B.C. Researchers believe that

Modern populations of the North Altai anthropological type, which include the Northern Altaians, Teleuts, Mountain Shors, as well as the Baraba Tatars of later times, are descendants of the bearers of the Pazyryk culture.

A 2001 analysis showed that representatives of the Pazyryk culture are closest in mitochondrial DNA to modern Selkups and Kets.

Appearance

The mummy lay on its side with its legs slightly pulled up. She had numerous tattoos on her arms. The mummies were wearing a silk shirt, a woolen skirt, felt socks, a fur coat and a wig. All these clothes were made of very high quality and indicate the high status of the buried person. She died at a young age (about 25 years old) and belonged to the middle strata of Pazyryk society.

Location

The mummy is kept in National Museum named after Anokhin (Altai Republic, Gorno-Altaisk) in a sarcophagus with equipment for maintaining and controlling special temperature and humidity conditions. A special extension was built for the exhibit.

Public opinion

This fact caused discontent among a certain part of the Altai people. From their point of view, the “Princess of Ukok” should have been returned to Altai: some believed that it was enough to return the mummy to the territory of the republic, while others believe that it should be buried again in its original place.

Opinion of Vyacheslav Molodin

Film "Revenge of the Altai Princess"

Alena Zharovskaya’s film “Revenge of the Altai Princess,” shown on ORT, is characterized as far ahead of the republican newspapers in terms of the amount of gags and mystical nonsense .

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

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18 years ago, archaeologists excavated a Scythian mummy in the Altai Mountains. She was dubbed the Altai Princess. Today the Altai people demand that the mummy be buried back. So that earthquakes and various disasters stop.

In the summer of 1993, archaeologists from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of Natalya Polosmak, carried out excavations on the Ukok plateau. The high-mountain plateau of Utok in the south of Altai, located at an altitude of about 3 kilometers above sea level, has long been considered a sacred territory here. It is here, at the foot of the great Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola mountains, that the indigenous Altai people believe that the upper world, the “second layer of heaven,” is located. Getting here is quite difficult: from a helicopter you can see a stunningly beautiful and at the same time eerie view of giant, inaccessible boulders, steep bare rocks, cut by the Ak-Alakhi River. Perhaps there is no place in Altai more fantastic and unearthly. It is here that, back in the days of the ancient Scythians, it is believed that creatures with supernatural abilities lived many millennia ago. One of the objects of research, and far from the most promising, was the Ak-Alah-3 mound. Researchers did not expect to find anything special here, because the grave was considered partially destroyed, not only by private individuals, but also by the military, who in the mid-60s of the last century took material here to build fortifications during the conflict with China.

The burial chamber was opened under the guns of video cameras and cameras. Not just one day. At first, the researchers' expectations were justified - they managed to discover a ruined burial site from the late Iron Age. When it was cleared, it turned out that under the first burial there was a truly ancient grave. What made the find truly sensational was the fact that inner part The burial site turned out to be filled with ice, which allows the remains to be preserved for thousands of years. To remove objects from the grave, scientists melted the burial, which was a wooden frame, with hot water for several days. Six horses lay in the ice - under saddles, with harnesses. And another wooden block, nailed with bronze nails. Noble people were buried in such logs, carved from larch.

As a result, scientists were able to discover the mummy of a young woman about 2.5 thousand years old. Almost immediately, scientists concluded that the mummy belonged to the so-called Pazyryk culture, which flourished in the territory of modern Altai Mountains in the 6th - 3rd centuries BC. The discovery of mummies belonging to this culture, generally speaking, is not something unique - for example, the mummy of a leader from the same time period, which is now kept in the Hermitage, was discovered in Altai in 1950, and the first similar finds date back to 30 -years of the last century. In fact, traces of the Pazyryk culture are scattered everywhere on the territory of the Ukok plateau. The mummy was lying on its right side, its legs slightly bent. The conditions in the burial allowed even the clothes on the woman to be preserved - she was dressed in a woolen skirt, silk shirt and fur coat. Numerous tattoos were found on the mummy’s hands, and on the left shoulder there was a sacred sign - the so-called Altai griffin. The woman's age at the time of death was about 25 years old, and her height was approximately 170 centimeters.

Who is she? Local residents claim that they always knew about the burial of their ancestress named Kydym on the Ukok plateau, but did not dare to disturb her sacred sleep. Novosibirsk geneticists have managed the almost impossible. They isolated a non-dead gene from the mummy’s tissue and concluded: the princess does not belong to any of the known Mongoloid races inhabiting the Earth. She cannot be the ancestor of the Altai people. Her appearance was more reminiscent of European. It can also be argued that the lady rode dashingly on a horse and skillfully shot a bow.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, a contemporary of the mysterious princess, wrote about the Scythian tribes inhabiting the Altai Mountains, who could turn into vultures “guarding gold.” These unknown creatures were distinguished by their tall stature and “unearthly” appearance. Neither you have slanted eyes, nor wide cheekbones, like the Chinese or Altaians. Their “portraits” are again very close to the ancient Chinese descriptions of the “sons of heaven.”

Herodotus writes that the Scythians had their own “kings,” headed by the “foremother,” “the mistress of the Scythians.” In the graves of this period, many images of long-eared griffins were found - mythological creatures guarding gold. By the way, there are especially many of them on the Ukok plateau. But only one of them, and the largest one, was applied to the human body. Thus, there is almost no doubt that the princess with a vulture on her shoulder, made in the Scythian animal style, was the same Great Priestess of the Scythians.

The fact that six red horses, decorated with strange metal objects, were buried along with the woman also speaks of the uniqueness of the burial. According to Chinese mythology, such horses were called “qilin” - heavenly, capable of lifting a person to transcendental heights. They were a cross with a griffin and were associated with the image of the Mother Goddess, who gave birth to the entire human race.

It is worth paying attention to the unusual attire of the Scythian woman. Clothing made of the finest silk, a material practically never used in these parts, is framed by a thick red belt. Archaeologists believe that such a belt is a sign of a warrior and initiate. And the larch stirring stick found in her hands is an extremely important ritual symbol: such sticks, even in pre-Buddhist times, were considered an instrument for the creation of the world and were placed in the hands of the highest divine persons. A tall headdress with gold braids of complex shape speaks of magical power Princess of Altai, a goddess who, according to ancient beliefs, kept the secrets of the Creation of the World and immortality.

The great Scythian woman, however, died like an ordinary earthly woman. Who interred her with all honors? Who “inherited” her secret knowledge? Where, in the end, did the mythical gold of the Scythians, which has been sought unsuccessfully for many centuries, go? Was the princess a messenger from heaven or an ordinary wise earthling?

Princess of Discord

As it turned out, it was this find that triggered the process, in which, in addition to scientists, they took all possible part public organizations, prosecutor's office and legislative assembly of the Altai Republic.

The fact is that after the discovery of the mummy, one of the scientists or journalists (who exactly is now no longer possible to establish) stated that the discovery of the mummy was the greatest archaeological find of the late 20th century. It was probably these loud words that attracted the attention of the Altai public, who, in a fit of indignation, declared that the archaeologists had not told them anything new - they say, local residents They have known about this grave for a long time. And this mummy has nothing to do with Pazyryk culture, because it is the remains of the great warrior and sorceress Kydym - the ancestor of modern Altai people (it was then, with the help of local journalists, that the mummy was dubbed the Princess of Ukok). And since she is an ancestor, she must be immediately returned to her place and buried.

Some time later, scientists aggravated the situation by analyzing the remains, which, after excavations, were transported to Novosibirsk. Facial reconstruction and subsequent DNA analysis made it possible to establish that the girl, whose remains were discovered on the Ukok Plateau, belonged to the Caucasian race. This did not come as a surprise to the archaeologists themselves - they already knew that most of the representatives of that same Pazyryk culture were similar to modern Europeans, fortunately, research in this direction had been carried out since the 30s of the last century. However, members of the public were surprised. Without losing their patriotic spirit, however, they told the scientists:

“...Despite the statements of some leaders of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography that burials in the mounds of the Scythian era “are not your ancestors,” we think differently. The far-fetched thesis of the absence of a genetic connection with the people of Altai is a tendentious approach to history Turkic peoples. We are against turning the Altai land into one ugly excavation pit. We must return the embalmed body of a young woman removed from the mound to its resting place. No scientific interests can or should outweigh the religious and moral feelings of an entire people."

Very soon they began to refer to the mummy every time opportunity. For example, earthquakes began on the territory of the Altai Republic - this is Kydym taking revenge on his descendants. The death of livestock - again the ancestress demands to return her from Novosibirsk to her homeland.

Of course, since issues of patriotism were raised, politicians could not stay away from the lively discussion. They supported the opinion of the shamans and demanded that the mummy be returned to its place. And to prevent this from happening again, in 1998 it was decided to ban excavations on the Ukok Plateau, declaring it a “territory of peace.” The ban had no formal force, since excavation issues are within the competence of the federal government, but the obstacles created local authorities authorities and the population, led to the fact that excavations actually stopped.

Altai is called the “Cradle of the World,” meaning that it was from here that humanity began its journey. This sacred land still holds many mysteries to this day.

The meaning of the Turochak writings

In 1975, on the steep cliffs off the left bank of the Biya River, seven kilometers from the village of Turochak, amazing two-meter rock paintings were discovered: more than two dozen walking moose.

Stylistic analysis of the images made it possible to attribute them to the Bronze Age and, with a high degree of probability, to associate them with the Karakol culture, which existed in the 2nd century BC. e. But how did these unique for Altai appear? rock paintings, is not completely clear. Distinctive Features Turochak's writings were not only the choice of characters, but also the material with which the drawings were created - red ocher, atypical for Altai petroglyphs.

The researchers were also amazed by the dynamics and expressiveness of the images, which were painted on a steep and difficult-to-reach surface. But the main mystery remains their meaning. What did the ancient “artists” try to tell their descendants?

Woman with tattoo

The sacred Ukok plateau in the south of Altai is a place that attracts both daredevils who decide to test themselves and numerous researchers. His main secret The global scientific community began to discuss it relatively recently, in 1993, when archaeologists under the leadership of Doctor of Historical Sciences Natalya Polosmak, at the excavations of the Ak-Alah burial ground, discovered a mummified body, the estimated age of which is 2.5 thousand years.

The perfectly preserved find allowed scientists to conduct a DNA examination and restore the appearance of the 25-year-old girl. Her facial features were not Mongoloid, but rather resembled European ones. The waist of Princess Ukok was decorated with a red belt - a symbol of a warrior; in her hands she clutched a larch wand - an instrument of “creation of the world”, and her head was crowned with a high headdress with golden braids - an attribute of a woman possessing magical powers and keeping the secret of immortality.

On her body, tattoos of a deer-ibex with the beak of a griffin, a ram with an thrown back head, and a spotted leopard, made in the Scythian “animal” style, were found. All this, as well as a leafy deck, similar to a shaman’s boat, Rotyk, and six “heavenly” horses buried here, indicated that not ordinary person. Altai shamans are sure that this is the body of the legendary ancestor of their people - Kydyn, with the “desecration” of whose burial all the troubles of Altai began.

Academician Vyacheslav Molodin, under whose leadership a large-scale study of the Altai highlands was carried out, is convinced that “this is not a princess, but a representative of the middle stratum of Pazyryk society” of the 6th-3rd centuries BC. e. Perhaps she was a sorceress or healer. However, who the Altai princess really was, as she was called, will remain a mystery.

Eighth wonder of the world

The Ukok Plateau has other secrets. For example, mysterious geoglyphs were discovered here - huge images that can only be viewed from considerable distances, usually from a bird's eye view. It is unclear for what purpose they were created.

The age of geoglyphs is yet another controversial issue. For a long time it was believed that they appeared 1.5-2 thousand years ago, but the latest research has shown that the time of their origin is the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. e. Scientists are also trying to figure out why over such a long period of time geological processes didn't destroy the geoglyphs?

Finally, they have yet to understand the meaning of the “messages.” Although the outlines of many of them are easy to “read”, the idea of the ancient artists still remains a mystery. Scientists rightly call geoglyphs the eighth wonder of the world and continue their search, while ufologists are trying to prove their theory about the location of alien airfields in these places.

Altai stonehenge

Thousands of tourists visit the Chui steppe to see the Altai Stonehenge. Five huge boulders up to seven meters high are decorated with petroglyphs - drawings from the time of the Pazyryk culture. One of the blocks differs from the others by the crossbar placed on it, the other is made in the form of a throne-chair.

Researchers are sure that ancient shamans used this place for rituals. In this case, most likely, the stones were specially delivered from other places. A study of their structure showed that the material does not occur in the nearby mountains. According to legend, the boulders were brought by the ancient Scythians from afar, 500 kilometers away.

The age of the Altai Stonehenge presumably dates back to the 8th-6th centuries BC. e. The stones are installed in the direction of the cardinal points and, according to observations, have differently charged electromagnetic fields. Tourists who ventured into the center of the “stone fence” said that it was as if they were being sucked into a funnel. People still wonder about the true purpose of the Altai Stonehenge and its magical powers.

"Denisovan" or "Altai man"

Denisovskaya Cave is located in the valley of the Anui River, which the keepers of Altai traditions call “the path to the mysterious Belovodye”. In this world-famous archaeological site, many cultural and historical monuments were discovered. In 2009, among other finds, a phalanx of a little girl’s finger was found, and a little earlier, a molar tooth of an 18-year-old boy.

The artifacts were sent to the M. Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. The analysis showed that their owners were representatives of a new ancient human population. So far, Russian, American and Canadian scientists are finding it difficult to give an exact answer: whether we are talking about a new species or subspecies, so they use the neutral one - “Denisovan” or “Altai man”.

Presumably a million years ago, it “deviated from the branch of general human development” and evolved in an independent and, as it turned out, dead-end way.

Denisovan genes were not found in any representative modern civilization, with the exception of the Melanesians, whose ancestors, according to scientists, could have had contact with the “Denisovans” in East Asia.

The find completely destroyed the stereotypical idea of the ancient inhabitants of the planet and suggested that 50 thousand years ago Neanderthals lived in the western part of Eurasia, and “Denisovans” lived in the eastern part. Could they interact, and what caused the disappearance of the “Altai Man” - questions for which answers have not yet been found.

Center of the Universe

Many researchers correlate the highest Altai mountain Beluga whale with the sacred Mount Meru. In particular, the Russian philosopher Nikolai Fedorov tried to confirm this theory. Using a map depicting the sacred Mount Meru, dated to the 2nd century BC. e., Turkologist Murat Adzhi developed a popular hypothesis.

One of the arguments was the similarity of location ancient Meru and modern Belukha. At equal distances from Meru were the four then known oceans, and Belukha was equally distant from the Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Where did the fourth ocean go? It may have existed west of Belukha during Atlantean times, but subsequently disappeared. Other “evidence” includes the possibility all year round observe the Big Dipper and consonance over Altai ancient name Beluga whales - “Uch Sumer” - with the toponym “Meru”.

In search of freedom

In the Russian consciousness, Altai is inseparable from the legendary and mystical country of Belovodye, the abode of freedom and immortality. The popularization of the legend is usually associated with the Old Believers-runners who flocked to Altai in search of better life and showed the way to everyone who was thirsty with the help of “guidebooks”, where the path to Belovodye was described in an allegorical form. Russian scientist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich associated the Slavic idea with Buddhist legends about Shambhala. He declared the unity of Altai, India and Tibet and was confident that they were components of one energy system that had been preserved since the times of Atlantis. Is it possible today to find a way to the Land of Justice and Virtue? The search for an answer to this question lies, rather, in the field of spiritual knowledge.

Altai has more than once delighted archaeologists with amazing historical artifacts, because mountain burials are perfectly preserved in permafrost. The most famous find was the burial of the “Princess of Ukok”, which, as they say in the Urals, was protected by an ancient curse.

In 1993, Novosibirsk archaeologists explored the Ak-Alakha-3 mound on the Ukok plateau, Altai Republic. The mound had long been plundered and was in a dilapidated state, and scientists did not expect anything sensational. At first they came to a ruined Iron Age burial ground, but underneath it they unexpectedly discovered another, more ancient one. The burial was untouched; its interior was filled with ice. Now archaeologists understand: the mound, contrary to their expectations, can present many surprises. The news of the discovery instantly spread around the world: soon scientists from Switzerland, Belgium, Japan and the USA, as well as National Geographic journalists, arrived at the excavation site.

Experienced members of the expedition, led by Doctor of Science Natalya Polosmak, were curious, however, in order not to damage the contents of the mound, they had to act very carefully. It took several days to melt the huge block of ice using hot water. When the job was done, under a layer of ice, scientists discovered six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden block, inside which was a well-preserved mummy.

She was a young woman about 25 years old. The body lay on its side, legs bent. The clothes of the deceased have been preserved: a shirt made of Chinese silk, a woolen skirt, a fur coat and stockings-boots made of felt. All signs pointed to the burial belonging to the Scythian Pazyryk culture, widespread in Altai two and a half thousand years ago.

Appearance the mummy testified to the peculiar fashion of those times: a horsehair wig was worn on his shaved head, his arms and shoulders were covered with numerous tattoos. In particular, on the left shoulder was depicted a fantastic deer with the beak of a griffin and the horns of a capricorn - a sacred Altai symbol.

Of course, the find caused considerable public outcry. The press immediately dubbed the girl the “Altai Princess” or “Princess of Ukok.” However, scientists considered such statements to be reckless: neither the size of the mound, nor the things of the deceased (with the exception of an expensive silk shirt) indicated her noble origin. Although the Altai girl cannot be called a commoner. Apparently, she was the owner of some kind of “secret knowledge” - for example, a healer and a fortune teller.

The mummy was urgently taken to Novosibirsk, where its study continued. Local specialists were joined by guests from Moscow - employees of the Research Institute at the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. Analysis of the remains showed that the “princess” belonged to the Caucasian race. The girl was buried several months after her death - in March-April, when her life was cut short. short life. Special balms, wax and mercury were used to mummify the body.

Local shamans said that the archaeologists did not tell them anything new: they had long known about this burial, sacred to them. The deceased, they said, is their legendary ancestor Kydyn (another name is Ochy-Bala). The body, therefore, needs to be returned from Novosibirsk to Altai and no longer disturbed. The archaeologists’ arguments that genetically “Kydyn” had no relation to the modern inhabitants of the republic did not work. Even over time, the hype around the “Altai princess” did not subside.

Before the elections in the Altai Republic, some politicians and parties promised to return the shrine if they won. In 1998, the local Kurultai, without any authority, declared Ukok a “quiet zone” - from now on, excavations here were prohibited. Numerous media outlets continued to circulate information about the “curse of the Altai princess” - they say that disturbing the peace of the mummy caused numerous troubles and cataclysms. These include the earthquake that occurred in Altai in 2003 and even the monetization of benefits.

The decision of local parliamentarians on the “quiet zone” was subsequently canceled. And in September of this year, the aspirations of thousands of Altai residents finally came true: accompanied by shamans, the mummy was returned to “ small homeland».

Now the sarcophagus with the “Princess of Ukok” is kept in the Anokhin National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk. The museum building was thoroughly restored, and a separate extension was built for the “princess”. The sponsor of all this was the Gazprom company. The head of the company, Alexey Miller, grand opening Grateful Altai residents presented the museum with the highest republican order and presented a horse. And the orchestra performed a specially written ode to Gazprom in the Altai language.