The Siberian Ice Maiden: A 2,500-Year-Old Mystery and the Oldest Known Tattoos
In 1993, a team of Russian archaeologists, led by Dr. Natalia Polosmak, made a groundbreaking discovery in the remote Ukok Plateau, located in Siberia’s Altai Mountains. There, buried beneath a frozen kurgan (burial mound), lay the exceptionally well-preserved remains of a 2,500-year-old woman, now known as the Siberian Ice Maiden or the Princess of Ukok.
This ancient burial site was untouched for more than two millennia, protected by permafrost, which helped preserve her skin, hair, clothing, and even intricate tattoos—some of the oldest known tattoos ever discovered.
The discovery provided valuable insight into the Pazyryk culture, a nomadic Iron Age people who lived in the region. The rich artifacts, elaborate burial rituals, and remarkable body art found with the Ice Maiden offer...