Mystery of unique 2,100-year-old human clay head – with a ram’s skull inside

The soldier was laid to rest wearing his clay likeness 2,100 years ago in a burial mound in Russia alongside the burned corpses of 200 other people.

An ancient sheep skull has been discovered inside the sealed “death mask” of a handsome Siberian warrior. Experts had long presumed the mask contained parts of the man’s skull, but feared they would destroy it if they opened it.

Decades later, and a new scanning technique has allowed scientists to peer inside without damaging the object. Unique among finds at the mound, known as Shestakovsky burial mound No 6, the clay head is filled with the bones of a sheep, not a human.

Now scientists are seeking an explanation for the bizarre find in the necropolis in Russia’s Khakassia region.

Scans of the 'death mask' revealed a sheep skull inside
Scans of the ‘death mask’ revealed a sheep skull inside Picture: Evgeny Babichev, Instutute of Nuclear Physics, SB RAS

Dr Konstantin Kuper, of the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk, said: “It was suggested that there was a human skull inside.

“It was of course quite surprising to see instead a sheep’s skull.”

The precious clay head was not opened but fluoroscopy was used to recognise the ram’s head inside the death mask.

The warrior was from the Tagar culture, which was known for its elaborate funeral rites.

The artefact was found in a burial pit alongside 200 bodies laid to rest 2,100 years ago
The artefact was found in a burial pit alongside 200 bodies laid to rest 2,100 years ago Credit: A. POSELYANIN

The dead were preserved for years by their families as they mummified – and then mass burials were held containing some 200 bodies.

Senior Russian archeologist Professor Natalya Polosmak said the ram skull mask is “the only such case so far”.

Now an effort is underway to get into the heads of the ancient people to understand why the human skull was replaced with a sheep’s.

She claimed that the mysterious prehistoric man may have been lost in “alien lands” – so a ram’s skull was used as a “symbolic replacement”.

Or he may have been seen as a wrongdoer and replacing his skull with that of a ram – often worshipped by ancient people – may have given him a chance to make a “fresh start” in the afterlife.

Most Siberian clay masks contain the skulls of the people they were buried with
Most Siberian clay masks contain the skulls of the people they were buried with Credit: VYACHESLAV POROSEVICH/SCIENCE FIRST HANDS

Another expert Dr Elga Vadetskaya said these ancient people first made a temporary burial to partially mummify the dead.

The skull was trepanned and the rest of the brain was removed.

Then the skeleton was turned into kind of ‘doll’ – it was wrapped around with grass and sheathed with pieces of leather and birch bark – and a clay death mask covered the head, covered with gypsum and decorated with ornaments.

The deceased were then returned to their families, often for years, perhaps decades, before a mass burial, reported The Siberian Times.

A 'death mask' over an ancient skull
A ‘death mask’ over an ancient skull Credit: ELGA VADETSKAYA

Dr Vadetskaya claimed the mummified corpses sometimes disintegrated.

“For some mummies the wait was too long,” she wrote.

“They decomposed, so only the heads were left to be buried. In some cases even the head did not survive.

She continued: “Then they had to recreate the whole image of the deceased one.”

Dr Vadetskaya believes this is why the Tagar warrior’s skull was replaced with that of a ram.

Faces molded on the skulls were often covered with thin gypsum layer painted with ornaments.
Faces molded on the skulls were often covered with thin gypsum layer painted with ornaments. Pictures: Elga Vadetskaya, The State Hermitage Museum
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