Scientists restore image of 2,500-year-old woman

Scientists have reconstructed the image of a woman who lived over 2,500 years ago, whose mummified body was found by archeologists in 1993 in the Altai Mountains, South-West Siberia.
Experts at the Moscow-based Forensic Reconstruction Laboratory have fully reconstructed the woman’s face using her skull bones. They then created a sculpture of the woman’s head, which is currently on display at the museum of the Novosibirsk Institute of Archeology and Ethnography alongside its prototype. There are numerous legends and conjectures surrounding the mummy. The indigenous people in the Republic of Altai believe in pagan myths, so they are confident that scientists have angered the spirits, and namely the ghost of the “Altai Princess” Kydyn, resulting in an earthquake that rocked the region soon after archeological excavation work began. They claim that other upheavals will follow, unless the mummy is returned to its tomb.The mummy has also been the focus of a 16-year scandal between scientists and the government of the Republic of Altai as to whether it should remain in Novosibirsk or be returned “home.”Although republic authorities have repeatedly demanded that the mummy be returned, the scientists flatly refuse, citing the lack of proper conditions for storing this unique artifact.