In the Altai region, in the so-called Pazyryk burial mounds, the well-preserved bodies of Scythian chieftains and their wives, buried 2,500 years ago, have been discovered. The graves also contained sacrificial war horses, fully equipped. It’s as if the fabrics, carpets, and personal belongings of our distant ancestors—the Scythians—were laid to rest just yesterday.
Another remarkable case involves the body of Menshikov, a close associate of Peter the Great, which lay in a cemetery in the Siberian city of Berezovo for nearly a century and was found in perfect condition.
Remains of mammoths that lived tens of thousands of years ago have also been uncovered. In one instance, a piece of undigested grass was found lodged between the teeth of a mammoth, allowing scientists to see firsthand what these extinct giants fed on.
The skin of one mammoth was removed and turned into a taxidermy specimen. The meat was also utilized—it was fed to dogs, as it was remarkably well-preserved.
It is known that local residents who previously found mammoth carcasses used their hides to make shoes and greased their boats with the fat.
Mammoths were able to remain preserved only thanks to a natural “refrigerator”—permafrost. The cold proved to be a reliable guardian.