1,500-Year-Old Mummy Found in Mongolia With Unusual-Looking Shoes

1,500-Year-Old Mummy Found in Mongolia With Unusual-Looking Shoes
Google Maps
Jack Phillips
Updated:

Archaeologists say they have found an ancient mummy in Mongolia from 1,500 years ago in the Altai Mountains.

The remains, which were wrapped in felt, are being called the first Turkik burial found in Central Asia, reported the Siberian Times.

B. Sukhbaatar, a researcher at Khovd Museum, told the paper: “This person was not from elite, and we believe it was likely a woman, because there is no bow in the tomb.”

“Now we are carefully unwrapping the body and once this is complete the specialists will be able to say more precisely about the gender,” Sukhbaatar added.

However, some media outlets and people on social media claimed the shoes looked modern. More specifically, they looked like “Adidas shoes,” as one put it. “The mummy had on some Adidas in the first pic,” wrote one person on LiveLeak before a number of tabloid sites picked it up.

Near the remains were a bridle, a clay vase, a bowl, an iron kettle, the remains of an entire horse, different types of Mongolian clothes, and a saddle. There were also pillows, a sheep’s head, and a travel bag.

“We can see clearly that the horse was deliberately sacrificed. It was a mare, between four and eight years old. Four coats we found were made of cotton,” Sukhbaatar said.

He added: “This is a very rare phenomenon. These finds show us the beliefs and rituals of Turkiks.”

Based on the items found in the cave, researchers dated the mummy back to the 6th century AD.

New Egyptian Burial Site

In February 2019, about 50 mummies were found in Minya, south of Cairo, Reuters reported
Archaeologist brushing mummy inside stone coffin in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. (Screenshot/Reuters)
Archaeologist brushing mummy inside stone coffin in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. Screenshot/Reuters

Those mummies, according to researchers, dated back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt.

The mummies, 12 of which were of children, were discovered inside four, 40-foot burial chambers in the Tuna El-Gebel site.

The identities of the mummies are not yet known, stated Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri.

Wrapped mummies inside burial site in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. (Screenshot/Reuters)
Wrapped mummies inside burial site in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. Screenshot/Reuters
Wrapped mummies inside burial site in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. (Screenshot/Reuters)
Wrapped mummies inside burial site in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. Screenshot/Reuters
Wrapped mummy inside burial site in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. (Screenshot/Reuters)
Wrapped mummy inside burial site in Tuna El-gebel Region, Minya, Egypt, on Feb. 2, 2019. Screenshot/Reuters

The archaeological finding was the first of 2019 and was unearthed through a joint mission with the Research Centre for Archaeological Studies of Minya University.

“We have not found names written in hieroglyphics,” one official told Reuters about the February finding.

Visitors, including ambassadors from a few countries, gathered at the site where 40 of the mummies were exhibited in an announcement ceremony, according to the news outlet.

Other details are not clear.

Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
twitter
Related Topics