Frozen for 2,500 years in Siberia’s Altai Mountains, a Pazyryk mummy’s tattoos reveal a world of artistry that would enchant modern tattooists. This mummy belongs to that of a 50-year-old woman whose skin (that was preserved in an icy tomb) bears vivid images of fauna found in her environment. Animals shown on her skin include leopards, a stag and a rooster… but there’s one more creature that’s different from the rest. This creature is mythical in nature with a body that blends both lion and eagle features—tthe legendary griffin. These tattoo designs reflect a scenery where nomadic warrior cultures once roamed the vast steppes between China and Eastern Europe. Today in 2025, new imaging has brought this ancient craft to light, showing the skill of a people who lived bold and free. Before we delve into the symbolism of the mummy’s tattoos, let us first talk about the culture she belonged in. Who Were the Pazyryk People Anyway? First of all, the Pazyryk were Eurasian horse-riding nomads of Scythian stock who thrived from the 6th to the 3rd centuries BCE. They roamed the steppes on sturdy horses and have been known to raid neighboring tribes whilst excelling in warfare. Despite their warrior culture, the Pazyryk have also mastered animal husbandry and held shamanic rituals. Their tombs were deep log-lined chambers capped by massive kurgans that held carpets, wooden saddles and finely wrought metalwork. Now we know their skin tattoo techniques were just as refined. Mummy Unearthed from an Icy Tomb Soviet archaeologists unearthed the 50-year-old Pazyryk mummy woman from frozen graves in the Altai Mountains. This was during anthropologist Sergei Rudenko’s expedition from 1947 to 1949. While faint traces of her tattoos were noted, their full intricacy remained hidden until July 2025. Using sub-millimeter near-infrared imaging at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, researchers uncovered dozens of intricate animal figures and geometric motifs in stunning detail. Dr. Gino Caspari of the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology and the University of Bern praised these findings as evidence of a tattooing tradition far more sophisticated than previously imagined. Wild Designs of a Nomad Woman’s Life On the mummy woman’s right forearm depicts a leopard that seems to prowl around a deer’s head in a fierce swirl of motion. Meanwhile, her left arm shows the titular griffin locked in battle with a stag. Having been interviewed by the BBC News, Dr. Caspari told them how he believes that art depicting battles between beasts was held with deep fascination for a warrior culture like the Pazyryk. However, a rooster on her thumb stands out with a unique flair. Dr. Caspari believes this rooster imagery to be personal or sentimental to the mummy woman. To learn how these Pazyryk tattoos were crafted, the research team joined forces with Daniel Riday; a tattooist who recreates ancient designs on his own skin. Riday noted that the mummy’s arms had tattoos that differ in quality. He suggests that different artists may have completed the tattoos, or that there were errors made during the inking process. Ancient Tattoo Art with Modern Grit Riday estimated the right arm’s lower half took four and a half hours, whilst the upper half five more. Daniel Riday was astonished about the dedication the Pazyryk had with their inking, especially if they’ve made the tattoos during harsh weather conditions in the Eurasian steppes. According to Riday, the Pazyryk process demanded someone who was highly skilled in health safety; someone who was aware of the risks when needles pierce skin and how to utilize such tools with brilliant expertise. Researchers believe the Pazyryk used stencils to sketch designs before tattooing. The Pazyryk people likely wielded bone or horn tools with multiple points for broad lines and a single needle for detail. Pigment from burned plants or soot gave the tattoos their lasting hue. Some tattoos bear scars from burial rites, hinting they mattered in life rather than the afterlife. Dr. Caspari speculates that these were badges of honor for the living, tying them to the woman’s warrior identity. Griffins as Noble Emblems With a lion’s raw strength combined with an eagle’s majesty over the skies, the hybrid griffins stood as bold emblems of might and sacred guardianship across Ancient Eurasia. With roots in the art of Mesopotamia’s old kingdoms as well as the Persian Empire’s, the griffin’s symbolism traveled between early Silk Road trails to spark imaginations from Greece to Central Asia. For the Pazyryk, a griffin inked on a warrior’s skin was a badge of their wild hunter-warrior livelihoods with ties to symbolic power. Overall, the mummy woman’s tattoos show the Pazyryk as master artists and fighters; a legacy that mirrors today’s tattoo culture with modern military personnel. Each tattoo mark tells a story of skill and survival that’s preserved through millennia. Top image: One of the several Pazyryk mummies currently housed at the Hermitage Museum. Source: CC BY-SA 4.0. Tattoo depiction of a griffin hunting a stag. Illustrated by Daniel Riday. References:
Hidden Identity of the ‘Dragon’ Mummy Revealed At Last
On this year 2025’s Father’s Day weekend, the film live adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon has dazzled audiences everywhere. The movie’s cutting-edge visual effects conjures the amazing imagery and magic of dragons, which in turn, has renewed peoples’ deep fascination for these mythic creatures with fresh hot energy. The film even soared to box-office success, thus proving that our interest in dragons is as resilient as ever. Yet, beyond the silver screen lies a real-world mystery wrapped in centuries of folklore. While the movie gave us Hiccup and Toothless, our real-life world presents us with the Koryu dragon mummy hailing from Japan. The Koryu (Rainbow Dragon) mummy has been long revered for its unforgettable features and rumored magical powers since medieval Japan. It is important to note that the dragon mummy has been cherished as an iconic treasure in one of the country’s most sacred Buddhist temples – the Todaiji Temple. Having charmed scholars with its serpentine appearance for generations and was believed to hold cosmic weather-controlling powers of summoning rain during the Muromachi Period (Japan’s medieval ages). The most exciting news of all, however, is that this ancient relic has finally been unmasked by science… and my goodness, the data results present us with an unexpected identity of the creature. With that being said, let us now present to you the identity of the dragon mummy, shall we? When you’re ready to find out the mummy’s identity… just keep scrolling below. Lo, and behold: It turns out that the mummy’s in fact an adult female Japanese marten (Martes melampus). Cousins to weasels rather than being cousins to giant reptilian creatures of myths. Standing at about 40 centimeters long (approx. 15.75 inches), the Koryu mummy’s enigmatic aura earned itself a legendary status. However, its transformation from myth to zoological fact was solidified through recent breakthroughs. Scientists deployed X-ray imaging and radiocarbon dating, discovering that its teeth and head bones confirmed its mammalian origins rather than reptilian or supernatural. The dating pinpointed its age as between the 11th and 12th centuries. The intriguing history of the Koryu mummy bridges folklore with science too. The mummy’s first documented connection to dragon myths takes us to the year 1429. It was in this timeframe when the Muromachi shogun (commander-in-chiefs during medieval Japan) named Ashikaga Yoshinori would have his fateful encounter with the mummy during his visit to Todaiji Temple in Nara – one of Japan’s oldest cities. Nara’s Todaiji Temple contains a storehouse called the Shōsōin Repository where prized religious artifacts and treasures were kept, such as the valuable Ranjatai agarwood and of course.. the enigmatic Koryu mummy. When Ashikaga Yoshinori visited the repository in 1429 to handle relics such as the Ranjatai, he would eventually encounter the Koryu mummy by chance with the assistance of the temple monks. Its dried, dragon-like appearance captivated the shogun’s first sight. After gazing into the mummy and marveling at its otherworldly looks, the shogun likened it to a mythical Koryu – rainbow or flood dragons of East Asia – thus sparking the mummy’s association with these legendary creatures in historical records. Diaries from Todaiji Temple’s monks during that time period have recorded the shogun’s visit, and ever since then, the dragon mummy became further entwined with local folklore. That was when the citizens of Nara believed the mummy’s presence could summon rain whenever the repository was opened, as Eastern dragons were associated with both the weather and water; in contrast to the Western dragon’s fiery nature. While skeptics might assume this marten to have simply wandered into the repository and succumbed to its death either by old age or starvation, researchers have speculated that the temple’s monks may have intentionally preserved or assembled these displays. Then, there’s more: the marten wasn’t the only ‘dragon’ mummy found in the storehouse. Fragmented parts of other so-called ‘Koryu’ mummies were also unveiled from Todaiji Temple. These parts have been revealed to be mole legs and bird bones. This additional find has led researchers to hypothesize that monks might have curated these relics to craft fantastical displays, possibly to captivate or inspire awe among the local community. However, this remains speculative and not definitively proven (as of June 2025). To further add mystery to this whole discovery, the research team reported an uncanny alignment with the past. Listen to this: during preparations for the investigation of the Koryu mummies, heavy rain popped up out of the blue. This heavy rain disrupted the team’s plans and gave them quite a memorable experience. One could say that this was a playful nod to the Koryu dragon’s legendary status as a rain-bringer. Coincidence perhaps? Who knows. From myth to marten, the Koryu embodies a beautiful tapestry of history, natural science, and human imagination. While its identity has now been demystified, its story continues to enchant us, reminding us of the treasures hidden at the crossroads of fact and folklore. Even though its true nature has been revealed, the Koryu remains cherished to the city of Nara and its people. For in the creative minds of mankind, the symbolism of dragons still endures and captivates our imaginations in its supernatural form. Look no further than the movie How to Train Your Dragon, which continues to win the box office as its story rekindles humanity’s timeless dream of dragons. Header Image: Zoomed in photograph of the dragon mummy. From the No. 47 Bulletin of Office of the Shōsōin Treasure House. References: 1. Imai, Kunihiko. “Experts Identify the Species of Shosoin’s Famed ‘Dragon’ Mummy.” Asahi Shimbun, 24 Apr. 2025, www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15723856. 2. Odeen-Isbister, Sara. “Mystery of 600-Year-Old Mummified ‘Dragon’ Solved.” MSN News, www.msn.com/en-sg/news/other/mystery-of-600-year-old-mummified-dragon-solved/ar-AA1GFoH3. 3. Margolis, Andrea. “Experts Solve Mystery of Ancient ‘Mummified Dragon’ Discovered by Japanese Shogun.” Fox News, 27 May 2025, www.foxnews.com/travel/experts-solve-mystery-ancient-mummified-dragon-discovered-japanese-shogun.
Green Sahara Mummies Reveal a People Who Stood Apart
The Sahara is the largest desert in the world, a vast arid wilderness stretching across north Africa. For millennia it has been a near insurmountable barrier separating the Mediterranean from the rest of the African continent. The ancient Egyptians, clustering along the shores of the Nile, depended on the desert for their defense. For them the lands were divided into the black, life-giving soils watered by their sacred river, and the endless red hell which lay beyond. But the deserts of north Africa were not always there. 7,000 years ago, this was a verdant landscape, teeming with life. Humans lived here, and now a new study has uncovered exactly who these people of the “Green Sahara” were. The research, published in Nature, focuses on the ancient rock shelter of Takarkori in the mountains of southwestern Libya. Extremely inaccessible even today and surrounded by sand, this place was once very different. Between 14,500 and 5,000 years ago during what is known as the “African Humid Period” this was a lush, forested area with rivers, lakes, and large animals. People also lived here, an isolated community of livestock farmers separate from the rest of the world. The remains of the people and their community have been preserved by the subsequent desiccated environment. Usually such hot environments with wild temperature swings between day and night would quickly destroy DNA traces. However the new research concentrates on two skeletal mummies in an exceptional state of preservation, and the team have been able to extract legible DNA and map the entire genome of these people. The results are surprising: it was known the pastoralists of Takarkori were isolated, but their genes reveal for just now long they lived separated from the rest of the world. For tens of thousands of years these people lived an isolated existence among their goats and sheep. This is interesting. It had been theorized that the era of a Green Sahara would have turned the area around Takarkori into a corridor for migration out of the heart of Africa into the lands to the north. This does not seem to be the case: although the terrain would have been much easier to traverse than it is today, these people were not a part of that great human expansion. How did they learn to farm, then? They are not genetically linked to the humans of the Near East, where farming was first innovated. The best guess for now is that they learned the techniques from the people with whom they traded, via cultural exchange. Remains of pottery found at Takarkori and their cave paintings show these people were isolated genetically, but not culturally. However the lack of evidence of inbreeding suggests that these isolated people were also not small in number. There must have been a significant population here, trading with their neighbors but otherwise remaining isolated for millennia. Where did they come from? That, in truth, is the final mystery: these people are not closely linked to any of the other populations in the ancient world. They are from a previously unknown ancient African lineage. There is some Neanderthal in the mix, more than sub-Saharan Africans yet ten times less than the Levantine farmers who must have taught them to tend their livestock. We have to reach far back into the Pleistocene, more than 11,000 years ago, in our search for the origins of these new people. They came from places unknown, lived in splendid isolation for longer than all of human history, and then died in this place, forgotten until now. Header Image: The DNA came from mummies at Takarkori during the “Green Sahara” period. Source: Museum for Prehistory and Early History / CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mysterious Egyptian Tomb May Be From Lost “Abydos” Dynasty
It never rains but it pours when it comes to the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs, said nobody ever, but the metaphor certainly seems appropriate at the moment. A month ago we reported on the first discovery of an Egyptian Royal tomb (from a period of united Egypt) in a century, then a hoped-for second a week later. And now there’s a third tomb. This one is a little different, though. The first two discoveries are thought to be associated with Pharaoh Thutmose II, an eighteenth dynasty who ruled during the so called New Kingdom (still very old) of ancient Egypt, during the 15th century BC. The New Kingdom was ancient Egypt’s last golden age, a time of monolithic monuments, walls covered in hieroglyphs, and lots and lots of depictions of people in profile. But the new find, as reported by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, was from an altogether murkier period of Egyptian history. It is generally agreed that Egyptian history can be split into sections: three periods of a united Egypt, the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, separated by two “intermediate” periods of dynastic infighting, fractured loyalties, rival pharaohs and general skullduggery. This new find is believed to be from one of the most interesting moments of the Second Intermediate Period, which ran from 1700 to 1550 BC. During this time Egypt split into multiple rival states, with the upper (southern) Nile lost to the Kush and the fifteenth and sixteenth dynasties vying for control over the northern stretch of the river and the Nile Delta. Two rival dynasties, or maybe three. Since the 1990s a theory has been floating around that there may have been a third dynasty, contemporaneous with the other two for about a century. This mysterious dynasty from a time of few records is known now as the “Abydos Dynasty” for the disappointingly prosaic reason that these pharaohs lived and died in Abydos. And it is in Abydos, in the Mount Anubis Acropolis, that the new “royal” tomb has been found. Dr. Joseph Wagner, head of the Egyptian-American mission working in Abydos, describes the tomb: “the royal tomb was found at a depth of approximately 7 meters below ground level. It consists of a limestone burial chamber covered with mudbrick vaults originally reaching a height of approximately 5 meters. Remains of inscriptions are found on either side of the entrance leading to the burial chamber for the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, along with yellow inscription bands that once bore the king’s name in hieroglyphs.” Is this an Abydos pharaoh? Is it proof that the Abydos pharaohs were even real, a question which remains far from answered? And if not, why is there the tomb of a pharaoh in Abydos? Actually, this is the second royal tomb found here. In 2014 the tomb of Pharaoh Senebkay, also believed to be an Abydos pharaoh, was found at Mount Anubis, as were a further eight tombs belonging to the royal family. But the tomb of Senebkay and the others were relatively modest, whereas this new discovery is much larger and more grand. Not everyone is convinced that Senebkay is an Abydos pharaoh, just as not everyone is convinced that the Abydos pharaohs existed at all. But this new, much grander discovery seriously strengthens the likelihood that the Abydos pharaohs were real. We don’t have an authoritative list of pharaohs of the Abydos dynasty, obviously, but there are several fragmentary sources which may provide us with a partial list of names. It has been theorized that Senebkay was one of the earlier pharaohs of this line, but the only thing we can say about the pharaoh of the newly discovered tomb is that he came even earlier. It is hoped that, as more details come to light from this new discovery, we may learn more about this lost but powerful pharaoh, and that maybe we will definitively solve the mystery of the Abydos pharaohs. Header Image: The excavated royal tomb at Abydos, and (inset) the burial chamber). Source: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Tomb of Thutmose II: First Egyptian Royal Tomb Found in 100 Years
The 18th Dynasty of Egypt was the start of its last golden age as a superpower. Its founder, Ahmose I, rose to control the whole of the Nile, expelling the mysterious semitic Hyksos rulers in the north and freeing Egypt from their rule for the first time in generations. The pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, first rulers of the so-called Egyptian New Kingdom, are among the most famous in history. Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh and husband to the beautiful otherworldly Nefertiti, was from this line of kings, as was his eventual successor Tutankhamun. Also amongst these kings is Thutmose II, a relatively unknown king and the fourth of the dynasty. It is the tomb of this king which, according to an announcement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has just been uncovered. The find, made near the ancient ruins of Luxor by a joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission, is the first discovery of an Egyptian Royal tomb since the discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922. Broken alabaster vessels within the tomb leave no doubt, referring to its occupant as the “dead king” Thutmose II. The tomb was originally discovered in 2022, but at first there was confusion as to who it was for. Given its location near the tombs of the wives of Thutmose III, it had been theorized that this also was the tomb of a wife of an 18th Dynasty pharaoh. The tomb had been heavily damaged relatively soon after its creation by flooding, with its floor apparently raised so its contents could be recovered and moved elsewhere. This left the interior in a very poor state of preservation, although painstaking work by the archaeological team has managed to piece together something of what it was like. Fragments of mortar in the tomb reveal the walls were painted with yellow stars and inscriptions in a blue text, whole paragraphs copied from the ancient Egyptian text known as “Im-Duat.” This religious text has a particular association with the tombs of Egyptian kings. The orientation of the tomb itself is also important, and in its correct context Egyptologists can see how it fits into the lineage of 18th Dynasty tomb design. Thutmose II’s tomb with its simple architecture seems to have acted as a nucleus for later tombs, which copied this layout. Thutmose’s body has been known to modern archaeology since 1881. But the tomb of this mysterious pharaoh, almost wiped from the record by his wife and successor, has now finally been found. Header Image: The alabaster remnants found in the tomb with the royal name of Thutmose II highlighted. Source: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Intricate Tattoos Revealed on Peruvian Mummies Using Lasers
A study of ancient mummies in Peru has revealed a new layer to the social and cultural complexity of the Chancay culture. Researchers have been studying the mummies of the Chancay, using laser stimulated fluorescence to reveal the intricate but faded tattoos that often adorn them. The study, headed by Michael Pittman from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and published in PNAS, found that by using lasers to fluoresce the target (essentially shining lasers at the mummy) worked especially well to produce a high-contrast and clear image which eliminated the ink bleed that would be expected of such ancient tattoos. The results were surprising: the level of detail and complexity of the tattoos appears to surpass anything we know about the Chancay from their other works. There is nothing on Chancay pottery or other textiles, nothing on Chancay rock art, of this level of sophistication. Which is not to say the Chancay did not produce much that was beautiful. They were a Pre-Hispanic culture of coastal Peru, traders situated just north of Lima who emerged after the fall of the Wari, mountain predecessors of the Inca. As with most of such cultures they were rolled up into the mighty Inca Empire in the century before the arrival of Europeans. The dry arid conditions on the Peruvian coast preserved much that would otherwise have been lost. Delicate Chancay textiles in cloth with their strange anthropomorphic figures are still vividly colorful, and the mummies themselves owe their current state of preservation to how dry it is there. The tattoos themselves are some 1,200 years old, and their spidery detail means they must have been inked using fine cactus spines and sharpened bones rather than the usual “cut and fill” method. They could faintly be seen with the naked eye on the mummies, from the Cerro Colorado cemetery in the Huaura valley of Peru, but they had dramatically faded over time. Using laser fluorescence did not just enhance the image however, but also allowed the researchers to see past a lifetime of ink bleed making the tattoo appear fuzzier. The results allowed the tattoos to be viewed as they were originally. The tattoos include repeating patterning across the skin, creating an appearance of scales, as well as depictions of animals. Networks of fine lines which were totally invisible show a hidden layer of detail and care which went into these adornments, and the importance they had to the lost Chancay culture. Original Study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2421517122. Header Image: Chancay mummy under laser fluorescent light. Source: Original Study / Judyta Bąk.
The Gold Tongues of Oxyrhynchus: How to Talk to a God
Archaeologists from the University of Barcelona excavating the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus have uncovered a cache of mummies dating to the Ptolemaic period. Some of the mummies, which seem to have escaped the attentions of looters down the centuries, have golden tongues. Oxyrhynchus, known today as Al-Bahnasa, has been under excavation since 1992, producing a steady stream of finds and new archaeology for more than 30 years. In addition to the mummies, ritual texts relating to the death rites of the Egyptians have been found, as well as wall paintings of Egypt’s religious figures. The University of Barcelona reports the discovery of a rectangular shaft, made of stone and used for burial. At the shaft’s end was a tomb complex. Decorated walls containing hieroglyphic inscriptions surround a central vaulted tomb made up of three chambers, containing some 300 mummies. Various gods of the afterlife are depicted on the walls, including Anubis, the jackal-headed god whose job it was to usher souls into the afterlife. The ceiling of the chamber prominently features Nut, goddess of the heavens and the universe, depicted as usual in a state of undress surrounded by her stars. But what of the golden tongues of the 52 mummies which form the latest find? Such things are not unheard of in Ptolemaic Egypt, and the gilding was intended to allow those so treated to speak to the god Osiris in the afterlife. The tomb complex has been identified as belonging to one Wen Nefer, who is shown on the wall decorations making offerings to the gods alongside his family. Many additional funerary offerings were made alongside the mummies, including a complete set of canopic jars holding the organs of a mummy on a sealed tomb. This mummy’s tongue was also gold. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt for 300 years, but the kingdom was by this point in its last days as an independent state. Egypt was a shadow of its former self, with its monumental pyramid building far in its past, but it remained a great kingdom before eventually falling to the upstart Romans. Original Announcement: https://web.ub.edu/es/web/actualitat/w/campanya-missio-arqueologica-oxirrinc. Header Image: The gold tongues found with the mummies allowed them to speak with Osiris in the afterlife. Source: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
