The Mystery Of The Murdered Siberian ‘Queen’ Poisoned So She Could Be Buried With Her Old Lover 2,600 Years Ago
The remains of a mysterious woman found in the tomb of an ancient Siberian tsar may have been murdered to make sure the couple were buried together.
The lavish tomb, full of gold, suggests the male was a high-ranking member of the 2,600-year-old community, and his bones showed he suffered from prostate cancer.
However, there are no visible clues to explain the death of the younger woman he was buried alongside and archaeologists suspect she was poisoned in order to be buried with her older lover.
The remains of a woman found in the tomb of a Siberian tsar may have been murdered to make sure the couple (pictured) were buried together. The man’s bones showed he suffered from cancer but there are no visible clues to explain the death of the woman. Experts suspect she was poisoned to be buried with her lover
The team also unearthed ancient jewellery, an art collection, as well as the remains of what is believed to be the ruler’s ‘entourage.’
In the necropolis belonging to this mysterious civilisation, a total of 35 people – 16 men, 13 women, five children as well as a selection of bones that have not been identified – were found, plus 14 horses, according to reports in The Siberian Times.
The researchers believe the group was slaughtered and laid to rest with their master in a burial rite that closely matched descriptions by Greek historian Herodotus.
In particular, the tomb fits a description by Herodotus of the macabre Scythian rituals, penned several hundred years after Arzhan 2’s creation.
Herodotus, who from 484 BC to 425 BC, wrote: ‘The body of the king is laid in the grave, stretched upon a mattress.
‘Spears are fixed in the ground on either side of the corpse and beams stretched above it to form a roof.
‘In the open space around the body of the king they bury one of his concubines, first killing her by strangling, and also his cup-bearer, his cook, his groom, his lackey, his messenger, some of his horses…and some golden cups, for they use neither silver nor brass.’
German professor Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, and a joint leader of the excavations, said: ‘Based on accompanying burials, we also found evidence of phenomena described by Herodotus when the living would follow the deceased.’
When the ruler died, ‘his close circle’ were ‘killed’.
‘As they were the property of the leader, they had to follow him to the tomb. And we identified particular evidence of their murder,’ Professor Parzinger said.
The ‘king’, nicknamed Siberian Tutankhamun, is believed to be the earliest known sufferer of prostate cancer
He was aged between 40 and 50 when he died, while his female partner is seen as being aged around 30.
Other artefacts found on the site include 9,300 decorative gold pieces (selection pictured), not including an ‘uncountable’ number of gold beads. More than 44lbs of gold, including earrings, pendants and beads, and decorated weaponry, adorned the bodies of the royal couple, all made in what is known as Animal Art style
The lavish tomb (site pictured) was full of gold suggesting the male was a high-ranking member of the 2,600-year-old community. The ‘king’, nicknamed Siberian Tutankhamun, is believed to be the earliest known sufferer of prostate cancer. He was aged between 40 and 50 when he died, while his female partner was around 30
The tomb, known as Arzhan 2, was found in an area known as the Valley of the Kings in Tuva Republic (marked). It was unearthed in 2001 and archaeologists have been analysing remains since. It is not known if the woman found in the tomb was the unknown ruler’s wife, or his ‘favourite concubine’, said the researchers.
It is not known if she was his wife, or his ‘favourite concubine’.
Russian archaeologist Professor Konstantin Chugunov, co-leader of the excavation, has speculated that the woman who shared the ruler’s grave could have been poisoned.
The tomb, known as Arzhan 2, was found in an area known as the Valley of the Kings.
It was unearthed between 2001 and 2003 and archaeologists have been analysing the remains found on the 262ft (80 metre) site ever since.
Other artefacts found on the site include 9,300 decorative gold pieces, not including an ‘uncountable’ number of gold beads.
More than 44lbs of gold, including earrings, pendants and beads, and decorated weaponry, adorned the bodies of the royal couple, all made in what is known as Animal Art style.
It also includes ‘many great works of art – figures of animals, necklaces, pins with animals carved into a golden surface,’ explained Dr Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg where some of the collection is being held.
He described the collection as ‘an encyclopedia of Scythian Animal Art because you have all the animals which roamed the region, such as panther, lions, camels, deer.
‘This is the original Scythian style, from the Altai region, which eventually came to the Black Sea region and finally in contact with ancient Greece. And it resembles almost an Art Nouveau style.’
A total of 35 people and 14 horses were also found in the tomb. Experts believe the group was slaughtered and laid to rest with their master in a burial rite that closely matched descriptions by Greek historian Herodotus (illustrated). Herodotus wrote that ‘the body of the king is laid in the grave’ and ‘his close circle’ are ‘killed’
The jewellery presents modern experts with a puzzle, because some have claimed the warrior Scythians – who at this point had no known contact with Ancient Greece – should now be seen in a new light.
For example Dr Anatoil Nagler, of the German Archeological Institute, said: ‘The people were excellent craftsmen. This puts the Scythian quality of life in a new light.
‘It rejects the stereotype that Scythians were just wild horsemen and warriors, migrating and destroying other people. They had a high level of cultural development.’
The collection (selection pictured) from the Arzhan 2 burial site is said to be impossible to insure, preventing it from being displayed in exhibitions abroad. ‘Their exceptional artwork predates the influence of the Greeks, and displays a high degree of sophistication,’ said the report
An iron dagger (picutred left) and iron arrowheads with golden encrustation (pictured right) were also found in the tomb. The tomb was unearthed between 2001 and 2003 and archaeologists have been analysing the remains found on the 262ft (80 metres) site ever since
But others claimed that the nomads mainly employed skilled craftsmen from other groups – who lived in permanent settlements – to make their jewellery and art.
And some treasures came from the territory of what is now China, and others from 3,000-plus miles away around the Caspian Sea.
The collection from the Arzhan 2 burial site is said to be impossible to insure, preventing it from being displayed in exhibitions abroad.
‘Their exceptional artwork predates the influence of the Greeks, and displays a high degree of sophistication,’ said the report.