Untouched 'frozen tomb' may contain the 2,800-year-old remains of Scythian royal

[Kritter]

Frozen tomb may contain ancient remains of Scythian royal | Daily Mail Online

An untouched 'frozen tomb' that may contain the 2,800-year-old remains of Scythian royal has been discovered in Siberia.

The huge grave, which is perfectly preserved in permafrost, is wider than the length of a football field, and likely houses the remains of several Scythian royals.

The Scythians were a barbaric group of horse-riding nomads who dominated a vast stretch of Eurasia from around the ninth to first centuries BC.

They built no settlements and left no written record, so archaeologists have gleaned what little is known of them from the well-endowed tombs of their leaders.

Now scientists have discovered one of the oldest and largest Scythian graves ever found, which could also contain a record hoard of weapons and gold treasures.

[Kritter]

Tomb of frozen Scythian prince discovered in Siberia ? Royal Central

A tomb has been discovered in the Tuva Region of Southern Siberia that pre-dates another found in the 1970s close by, in what archaeologists have dubbed the Siberian Valley of the Kings. This is dig, by Gino Caspari, an archaeologist from University of Bern, working with experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The team discovered a kurgan, or a Scythian princely tomb.

The site is within five miles of a similar site excavated in the 1970s and another tomb in the same region excavated in the early twenty-first century. Whereas the Egyptian Valley of the Kings was somewhat looted, this has not been the case as the pyramids in Egypt. A vast array of treasures was discovered in the second tomb with over a thousand gold objects, including a necklace weighing 4.4lb.