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The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years

By 0 and 0 and 0
11 August 2018

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Clipety-clop! The Upper Paleolithic foal held by Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum 

This is the first picture of an ancient foal dug out of the permafrost in the Batagai depression - also known as the ‘Mouth of Hell’ -  in the Yakutia region of Siberia. 

Head of the world famous Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk, Semyon Grigoryev,  said: ‘The foal was approximately three months old (when it died). 

‘The unique find was made in the permafrost of Batagai depression. The foal was completely preserved by permafrost.   

‘The extra value of the unique find is that we obtained samples of soil layers where it was preserved, which means we will be able to restore a picture of the foal’s environment.’

The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years

The Batagai depression in Verkhoyansky district of Yakutia. Pictures: The Siberian Times


The Ice Age foal lived up to 40,000 years ago, it is understood.

It was buried at a level of around 30 metres in the tadpole-shaped depression, which is a ‘megaslump’ one kilometre long and around 800 metres wide. 

‘We will report the exact time when it lived after studying the soil samples,’ said the scientist.

‘The foal has completely preserved dark-brown hair, its tail and mane, as well as all internal organs. 

‘There are no visible wounds on its body. 

‘This is the first find in the world find of a pre-historic horse of such a young age and with such an amazing level of preservation.’

The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years


The foal that came in from the cold after 40,000 years
Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk, and the Batagai depression in Verkhoyansk depression in Verkhoyansk district of Yakutia. Pictures: The Siberian Times


One unconfirmed account suggests that hair on the ancient horse has ‘zebra-like stripes’ on its legs. 

The foal was found by an expedition to the Verkhoyansky district of Yakutia.

The find was located by scientists from the North-Eastern Federal University, and Kindai University in Japan along with a crew from Fuji TV.

Nine years ago locals in Batagai village found a bison calf and part of an ancient horse’s body.

Locals in the remote Yakutia region see this spectacular crater as superstitious, and know it as the 'gateway to the underworld'. In fact, the depression was caused by the Soviets, who cleared forest here, but it is now being enlarged and shaped by climate change, according to local scientists.

Comments (36)

Love how they found intact the whole colt, and I know they'll take special care of him and anything else they find like they always have. I hate that people make rude comments about archeologists and even consider that they would destroy any finds, that's just absurd that'someone would have the nerve to say that!!!! Thanks for sharing this with the world .
Debbie Taylor , Decatur,USA
13/08/2018 18:09
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How wonderful!
But in have never heard that a foal is a Colt and foal is either one from there it is it goes
Filly for girl
Colt for boy
If someone refers to a foal it’s either
Pat , USA
13/08/2018 17:53
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Love how you can tell the fundamentalist people, assuming the find is a Colt... Nowhere in the article does it say the 'foal' is a Colt. It might be a Filly....
Rebekah, Mass, USA
13/08/2018 14:02
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Might have been a filly!!!!
Patty, Irwin
13/08/2018 11:00
2
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Such an important find. Our World is fortunate to have scientists like these who will research and learn so much from this. From the USA we send our thanks for the hard work in this find to everyone involved.
Maud Rawson
Maud Rawson, Bristol, Maine USA
13/08/2018 07:57
8
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I would love to see more on this wonderful discovery.
Thank you for posting this article. Best of luck.
Lee , United States
13/08/2018 07:44
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Amazing!让我想起我们古人的诗句:“胡马依北风,越鸟巢南枝。”
这两句诗出自东汉的
《古诗十九首·行行重行行》

行行重行行,与君生别离。
相去万余里,各在天一涯;
道路阻且长,会面安可知?
胡马依北风,越鸟巢南枝。
相去日已远,衣带日已缓;
浮云蔽白日,游子不顾返。
思君令人老,岁月忽已晚。
弃捐勿复道,努力加餐饭。
姚剑申, 巨鹿/中国
13/08/2018 07:16
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Would love to see an artist's rendition of what the colt may have looked like.
Amelia Denham , Wilsonville, Oregon USA
13/08/2018 07:05
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The colt is incredibly beautiful. One of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. I hope they leave him alone and preserve him as he is. And then put him in a sacred place of comfort, safety, and cherishment and not in a sterile museum in a sterile display. Please leave this beautiful colt alone and let him have his sanctity.
(Do not moderate my comments in any way. Who ever heard of such nonsense as us agreeing to editing. You're with Americans. Get real.)
Brenda Du Faur, USA
13/08/2018 03:16
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Truly an amazing find. Please keep us informed.
Janne, United States
13/08/2018 01:35
7
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Life was great then.... i guess... peaceful and living.
Aaish Siwa, Darjeeling
13/08/2018 01:18
5
3
Fascinating. You always have such good archeology articles. Keep us updated please.
Sue, USA
13/08/2018 00:42
6
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while this is great news they should locations and thigs relevant keep secret. to many - black- diggers around who just want to make some money. and in the progress of finding something, are destroying other valuable finds and information.
Benedikt MORAK, Moscow
12/08/2018 23:35
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This is so awesome. I really hope you will keep all of us up to date on any information about this foal. Please show picture of entire foal soon.
Susie McLain, USA
12/08/2018 22:01
10
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I hope they keep the newspaper up to date with what they found or at least post it somewhere public. This is a great find and may this foal bring more information to light about horses.
Kris, Newport, PA USA
12/08/2018 20:51
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