Mummy of a woman wearing fur underwear and copper cross found in Siberian permafrost

The well-preserved mummy of a woman wearing fur underwear and foal-skin stockings has been found in the world’s coldest inhabited region.

The woman — who is believed to date back to the middle of the 19th century — was unearthed wearing a Christian cross on her chest.

The remains were found in a sand grave in the permafrost region of Yakutia, Siberia, near the Russian Arctic,  where temperatures can fall below -76°F (-60°C).

The archaeologist who found the mummy had originally planned to remove its skull in order to take it away for further research.

After examining the well-preserved remains, however, she decided that she could not do so for ethical reasons.

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The well-preserved mummy of a woman wearing fur underwear and foal-skin stockings, pictured, has been found in the world’s coldest inhabited region

The woman — who is believed to date back to the middle of the 19th century — was unearthed wearing a Christian cross, pictured, on her chest

‘Her soft tissues have preserved very well,’ said archaeologist Elena Solovyova of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). 

‘This was natural mummification.’

The copper cross and clothing found on the woman overturned the theory that archaeologists had found Lensky Ostrog, the first Russian settlement in this region. which would have dated back to the conquest of Siberia in the 1630s.

Instead, experts now believe that the burial site must date from the 19th century — and not earlier.

They also now believe that the preserved woman was an ethnic Yakut — a local from the largest and coldest region of Siberia — rather than a Russian and that some of her clothing was machine-made.

‘Maybe she was buried in winter and frozen,’ said Dr Solovyova.

‘The lower part of her clothes are preserved.’

‘These were underwear made of fur, traditional Yakutian clothing, plus stockings up to the hips, made of the skin of a foal with fur inside.’

Attached to her leather stockings were so-called ‘torbasa’ — traditional Yakutian soft boots — which also had fur inside that was made of either foal or cow skin.

The remains were found in a sand grave in the permafrost region of Yakutia, Siberia, near the Russian Arctic, where temperatures can fall below -76°F (-60°C)

The archaeologist who found the mummy had originally planned to remove its skull in order to take it away for further research. After examining the well-preserved remains, however, she decided that she could not do so for ethical reasons

The copper cross and clothing found on the woman overturned the theory that archaeologists had found Lensky Ostrog, pictured in this artist’s impression, which was the first Russian settlement in this region. which would have dated back to the conquest of Siberia in the 1630s

‘We did not do the full morphological research [on] this woman, even though there was a plan to take the skulls of people buried on this cemetery to understand if they were Russians or Yakuts,’ said Dr Solovyova.

‘I could not do this for ethical reasons… The woman was mummified, not just scattered bones,’

‘I just could not make myself separate her head from [her] body.’

‘But I’m sure that this woman was Yakut.’

Instead, experts believe that the burial site, pictured, must date from the 19th century — and not earlier as had previously been suggested

Archaeologists also now believe that the preserved woman was an ethnic Yakut — a local from the largest and coldest region of Siberia — rather than a Russian and that some of her clothing was machine-made

‘We did not do the full morphological research [on] this woman, even though there was a plan to take the skulls of people buried on this cemetery to understand if they were Russians or Yakuts,’ said Dr Solovyova, pictured here centre with her colleagues

The remains were found in a sand grave in the permafrost region of Yakutia, Siberia, near the Russian Arctic, where temperatures can fall below -76°F (-60°C)