‘Polar Princess’ Mummy Found in What Was Thought to Be All-Male Cemetery

The "Polar Princess" uncovered in northern Siberia in July is the first adult female found in a burial site thought to be all male. Institute of the Problems of Northern Development SB RAS

A female mummy with a full head of hair and eyelashes was discovered in what was previously thought to be an all-male necropolis on the edge of the Arctic in Russia.

The well-preserved specimen, about 5 feet, 1 inch tall, is thought to be about 900 years old. Researchers believe she was about 35 when she died.

“This radically changes our concept about this graveyard,” said archaeologist Alexander Gusev from Russia’s Arctic Research Center. “Previously we thought that there were only adult men and children, but now we have a woman … It’s amazing.”

The "Polar Princess" in her grave in northern Siberia covered in copper strips. Institute of the Problems of Northern Development SB RAS