Archaeology & History

Revealed: the face of Siberia's 'Tutankhamun'

By T.K. Randall
January 18, 2021

Image: King Tut Burial Mask
Credit: Mark Fischer / CC BY-SA 2.0 (adapted) Originally unearthed by a Russian-German expedition in 1997, the Arzhan-2 burial consisted of a Scythian 'King' and 'Queen' found in a wooden chamber in a remote region of Siberia .

The skeletons, which dated back 2,600 years, were endowed in extravagant gold-encrusted clothing.

Now two teams of anthropologists have spent months painstakingly reconstructing the faces of these two historical figures by creating 3D models using laser scanning and photogrammetry techniques.

"The most time-consuming restoration work has been done for the 'Tsar's' skull," wrote anthropologists Elizaveta Veselovskaya and Ravil Galeev."Only half of the skull was preserved, which made the task much more complicated."

"The restoration of the brain area was not particularly difficult, since the remaining half made it possible to mirror the destroyed part."

"Great difficulties were associated with the restoration of the facial section. Unfortunately, less than half of the face was preserved, and elements of the skull important for reconstruction have been lost."

Nonetheless, despite these difficulties, the end result is undeniably impressive.

#Arzhan-2 burial of the #Scythian ‘King' & ‘Queen', is one the most extraordinary discoveries ever made by archeologists. https://t.co/JpHBQjn1lE pic.twitter.com/i1gJFJW6pI

— Sarah (@Sarah404BC) January 12, 2021

Source: Siberian Times

Tags: Siberia