By The Siberian Times reporter

Archeologists have hailed the find of suspected ‘Hun woman’ with a jet gemstone buckle on her beaded belt as extraordinary. The ancient woman was buried wearing a silk skirt with a funeral meal.

After a fall in the water level, the well-preserved mummy was found this week on the shore of a giant reservoir on the Yenisei River upstream of the vast Sayano-Shushenskaya dam, which powers the largest power plant in Russia and ninth biggest hydroelectric plant in the world.

The ancient woman was buried wearing a silk skirt with a funeral meal – and she took a pouch of pine nuts with her to the afterlife.

In her birch bark make-up box, she had a Chinese mirror.

Near her remains – accidentally mummified – was a Hun-style vase.

Part of the newly-discovered mummy. Credit: Marina Kilunovskaya

A team of archeologists from St Petersburg’s Insтιтute of History of Material Culture (Russian Academy of Sciences) working on the shoreline in Tyva Republic spotted a rectangle-shaped stone construction which looked like a burial.

‘The mummy was in quite a good condition, with soft tissues, skin, clothing and belongings intact,’ said a scientist.

Natalya Solovieva, the insтιтute’s deputy director, said: ‘On the mummy are what we believe to be silk clothes, a beaded belt with a jet buckle, apparently with a pattern.

Archeologist Dr Marina Kilunovskaya said: ‘During excavations, the mummy of a young woman was found on the shore of the reservoir.

‘The lower part of the body was especially well preserved …

‘This is not a classic mummy – in this case, the burial was тιԍнтly closed with a stone lid, enabling a process of natural mummification.’

The tomb in which the mummy was found. Credit: Marina Kilunovskaya

She was buried around 1,900 to 2,000 years ago, scientists believe ahead of exhaustive tests.

Astonishingly, the remains were preserved even though they have been underwater for periods since the dam became operational between 1978-85.

Dr Solovieva said: ‘Near the head was found a round wooden box covered with birch-bark in which lay a Chinese mirror in a felt case.’

Near the young woman were two vessels, one a Hun-type vase.

Sayano-Shushensk water reservoir. Credit: Siberian Times

The shoreline of the reservoir when the water retreats. Credit: Siberian Times

Restoration experts have started working on the mummy.

Analysis of the find is expected to yield a wealth of information on her life and times.

Scientists received a grant from the Russian Geographical society to rescue the unique archeological finds in flooded areas.

Top image: The ancient woman was buried wearing a silk skirt with a funeral meal. Picture: Marina Kilunovskaya

The article ‘2,000-Year-Old Mummified ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Dressed in Silk Emerges from Siberian Reservoir’ was originally published on Siberian Times and has been republished with permission.