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Mighty Siberian hero warrior reveals his secrets from almost 1,000 years ago

By 0 and 0 and 0
25 August 2014

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'A milestone discovery'. Picture: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences

The remains of the fearsome warrior - who towered some 25 centimetres over his peers - were unearthed by archeologists near Omsk in an ancient burial mound. Experts are intrigued by his death mask and the elaborate nature of his grave which indicates his importance.

Nicknamed 'Bogatyr' or 'Great Warrior', he is believed to have been trained in combat since childhood. He was buried with the massive fang of a bear embedded in his nose, seen as a sign of his strength and power. 

A decorated mirror - a bronze plate - lay on his chest, inside a birch bark cover. The mirror was evidently a tool to communicate with the gods.

In the grave, too, were 25 war arrows - which are still sharp today - and bronze tools. 

Archeologist Mikhail Korusenko who led the expedition to the Muromtsevsky district of Omsk region told The Siberian Times the find came as his team were about to complete fifth season of work.

'We had almost finished our research and suddenly this warrior decided to meet with us,' he said, calling the discovery a 'milestone' and a 'sensational find'.

The pictures of the skeleton, shown here, were taken at the burial site. The image shows how archeologists believe warriors such as this 'Bogatyr' looked at this time. His death mask originally comprising fabric included caskets made of birch bark covering the eye sockets and mouth.

Inside the caskets were metal figurines of fish with their heads broken off. 

By his feet lay a bronze cauldron with the remains of food to nourish him in the afterlife.

Mighty Siberian hero warrior reveals his secrets from almost 1,000 years ago

The death mask, with number 4 marking the bear's fang, and numbers 2 and 4 showing metal fish figurines with broken-off heads that were covering the warrior's eye sockets. Picture: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences

Close by were remains of leather and fur, perhaps part of his costume or from the quiver decorations on his arrows.

'We found 25 arrowheads - armour-piercing and diamond shaped, made from metal and bone,' said the academic, a candidate of historical sciences, from the Omsk branch of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

'Some of them were clearly of military purpose. Behind his skull we found a ringed bridle' - a sign that the warrior was an accomplished horseman.  

'It is interesting  that the fish figures were cast as one, and then broken in two. It was an intentional action, definitely. Perhaps, it had some religious importance. Then, next to his nose was the fang of big predator, a bear, this beast being traditionally associated with strength, power and warriors.' 

'Our warrior was killed in the battle. His left arm was severed in battle and placed near the body, and his shoulder was broken. But he was buried according to ritual which means he was a respected person. All the elements of the ritual give us an opportunity to discover historical and political conditions of the epoch the warrior lived in'.

The pictures of the skeleton, shown here, were taken at the burial site. The image shows how archeologists believe warriors such as this 'Bogatyr' looked at this time. His death mask originally comprising fabric included caskets made of birch bark covering the eye sockets and mouth.  Inside the caskets were metal figurines of fish with their heads broken off.   By his feet lay a bronze cauldron with the remains of food to nourish him in the afterlife.


Mighty Siberian hero warrior reveals his secrets from almost 1,000 years ago


Mighty Siberian hero warrior reveals his secrets from almost 1,000 years ago

Warrior’s burial clearly shows his left wrist chopped off; number 1 marks the bridle, numbers 2-5 are the details of the death facial mask, number 7 is a bronze mirror, 10-11 mark bronze cauldron and arrowheads. Below is a reconstruction of how a warrior of that culture and period of time looked like, made by A. Soloviev. Other pictures: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences

He is believed to have been around the age of 40 when he died, and was a member of the indigenous Khanty and Mansi peoples, though at 180 cm in height was significantly taller than most Siberian natives of this period. 

'There was a mirror on his chest, made as a metal plate. Usually such mirrors were worn as amulets, as a tool to communicate with gods. 

'I am doubtful he was a shaman himself. Rather he was very important man. We called him 'Bogatyr' (great warrior), and there is a connection with folklore. 

'This man belonged to the tribes that were the ancestors of modern Khanty and Mansi peoples; usually small, these tribes had to protect their borders and often had few men of outstanding physical condition. Our man was about 180 cm tall, which was very tall for those times. 

Mighty Siberian hero warrior reveals his secrets from almost 1,000 years ago

Bronze mirror was found on the warrior's chest. Picture: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences

The items found in the grave, and the remains of his lower arm and hand buried with the rest of the corpse, but severed from it, indicate this Siberian hero perished in battle.

'There is no doubt that the burial belonged to Ust-Ishim culture, the historical ancestors of modern Khanty and Mansi people,' Mikhail Korusenko said. 

'The first studies we made allow us to date the burial to approximately 11th-12th centuries AD. It is a truly unique find which would allow us to fill pages about not only the cultural, but the military history of this part of the region, as we know very little about this particular period of time.'

Comments (23)

so many comments ask about his ethnicity, and if he was balt, slav, etc. It says, if you read the article he was from Ust-Ishim people, ancestors to Khanty Mansi groups. They were and are finns, finno-ugrians. The bear still is sacred today, and it seems it was to them then as well.
Sergey, Kareliya
06/11/2020 18:14
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Reading the comments here, I find it incredible that they are still guys in this planet who still reject Theory of Evolution and stick to some stupid fiction called Bible. Wich country do these barbarians live?
The Indian, Hitchin
29/10/2016 01:36
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Abraham Linclon is recorded in 1848 giving a speech before congress, talking about all the Giant bones with double rows of teeth being found. This was well known by everyone back then. These bones were found all across the country. All the hundreds of newspaper articles from back then that can still be read today always talks of Giants with double rows of teeth. Bones from 7ft to 18ft tall were being all across the country back then. Then when evolution became the theory it all went quiet. Now that we all know today that evolution has been proven false. We should be able to see all the Giants bones again. But still there are other reasons why it will stay hidden.
ChillBill, Cleveland, Ohio
18/09/2016 13:15
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Two years later, any results from dna testing?
Erica, San Francisco, CA
02/09/2016 03:27
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I cannot see where you added information of the elongated skull, and double row of lower teeth...In the novice archeology world, they are known of descendants of the Nephilin Giants that was of the fallen angels mentioned in the Holy Bible....I would like to know more information and DNA as the DNA is not human in the giants. Thanks for the good article...
LuRose Williams, TExas USA
24/11/2014 04:59
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someone tell George R. R. Martin that they found a real Khal Drogo.
chirpydalek, Western Australia
16/10/2014 17:15
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How did these ancient skeleton people live without skin and organs?
doberman, portland oregon
10/09/2014 02:29
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you can see those signs around the circle in other turkic warriers. its been used to present warriors. it is the letter
" R" in orkhun alphabet, which means Soldier/Warrier. In todays turkic languages "er" stil means Soldier/Warrier.
kaya, sweden
09/09/2014 18:00
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Looks Slavic going by the look of his helmet and gear
Anthony, Melbourne
08/09/2014 06:40
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@John. You're jumping the gun by a fair bit there John. There's nothing in this article about him being European, or non-native to the area. Nothing to do with left-right politics, suppression, cover-ups or other paranoia.
T.Rex, Newcastle, Australia
07/09/2014 09:50
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I don't know much about Siberia but in Canada Britain and the US even in the 1700's people were small. If u look at uniforms compared to us they were tiny. So 5'10'' in the 11th century would be a Giant by any cultures measure I think!
Laura, Canada
02/09/2014 01:26
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I don't know much about Siberia but in Canada Britain and the US even in the 1700's people were small. If u look at uniforms compared to us they were tiny. So 5'10'' in the 11th century would be a Giant by any cultures measure I think!
Laura, Canada
02/09/2014 01:24
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@John, USA - what on earth are you talking about? He's likely to be a Siberian himself, he was part of their culture. There was probably few, if any, Europeans around that area at the time. As for the "reconstruction", it's a drawing of what a typical warrior of the time from that culture looked like.
Alex, UK
29/08/2014 06:30
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@John, USA - what on earth are you talking about? He's likely to be a Siberian himself, he was part of their culture. There was probably few, if any, Europeans around that area at the time. As for the "reconstruction", it's a drawing of what a typical warrior of the time from that culture looked like.

Alex, UK
29/08/2014 06:28
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Awesome find. Can't wait for research results. Archaeology and anthropology are better reads than anything else. Thanks to all those doing the tedious and detailed work.
Val, USA
28/08/2014 19:01
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