Purple and Gold over Thousands of Years

Natalia Polosmak

A horseman and a horsewoman buried in the "frozen" tombs on the Ukok Plateau (Gornyi Altai) wore clothes that were claimed to be one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries over the last decade.

Unfortunately, archaeologists deal mainly with imperishable objects, whereas the vast bulk of cultural relics is lost forever. Clothes, or the "second skin" of man, decay rapidly and are left behind scientific analysis. A few occasions when researchers were lucky to find textiles and even entire costumes became truly remarkable discoveries. The "frozen" tombs left by the ancient Pazyryk culture yielded well-preserved human bodies wearing the costumes of the remote epoch.

After the discovery in 1990-1995, the Pazyrykian costume was thoroughly analyzed using the techniques of natural sciences. This ten-year study of Pazyryk decorations, wigs, cosmetics, leather and felt objects, textiles, and even tattoos on the skin of mummies yielded amazing results. For example, the dyes from vegetable and animal sources identified in Pazyryk fabrics as well as the cut of the Pazyryk costumes testify to their remote origin, far from the Ukok Plateau in the Altai mountains …

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