1,300-year-old twisted skeleton baffles archaeologists

A thousand-year-old skeleton unearthed in Siberia has been dubbed the "dancer of the dark ages" due to its strangely twisted posture, which has intrigued scientists.

The 1,300-year-old skeleton of a man has a very strange death posture. Photo: Siberian Times.

The "Dark Ages Dancer" was about 30 years old when he died in the mid-7th - 9th century. Experts suspect the strange posture of the remains had a foul cause,Siberian Timesreported on May 22.

"He was placed on his back with his legs looking as if he was dancing. His feet were crossed while his knees were bent and his arms were around his pelvis. This position has never been seen in any known burial ritual," said archaeologist Denis Volkov.

Archaeologists nicknamed the skeleton Mikhail. "We talked to forensic experts and anthropologists. It's clear that his legs were tied, because otherwise his limbs would have been straight. Most likely his hands were also tied," Volkov said. There are no examples of bound human remains in graves from the same period in Siberia.

This is not the only reason why the skeleton found at the Ust-Ivanovka burial ground in Primorsky Oblast is unusual. The other skeletons found here all belonged to elderly people, who lived unusually long lives during the Middle Ages, with lifespans ranging from 50 to 70.

The grave was rectangular and filled with white sand of non-local origin, while the other graves were circular. There was evidence that the man had been shot to death with an arrow. One of the arrowheads was embedded in his side. The man was believed to have been from the Mohe caste of the Tunganic ethnic minority.

The archaeologists speculate that the man may have died of disfigurement from tuberculosis or syphilis. They are conducting further studies of the ancient skeleton.

According to VNE