The 1,700-years-old skeleton was discovered during an ongoing Bronze Age dig at the Gamurziyevskoye settlement site in the city of Nazran in the Caucasus Mountains. The burial pit, between Russia’s Ingushetia republic between the Nazranka and Sunzha rivers, was found on the same site where Bronze Age weapons, ceramic and jewellery were discovered. The dig for artefacts started in 2017 – but the surprising discovery was made this week.
Pictures of the bizarre find show the woman’s egg-shaped skull appears to have been artificially elongated with experts claiming the skull showed signs she was an “elite” member of her society.
Experts from the Institute of Caucasus Archaeology claim her head and neck were “artificially deformed”.
The female skeleton is not thought to be that of an extra-terrestrial – but has given experts further insight into human practices that are thousands of years old.
The skull shape was “moulded” either by multiple bandaging or “ringing” of the head in the person’s infancy.
The practice would take place at the beginning of a child’s life in order to contort the skull into a desired shape.
It is believed a moulded skull was considered a sign of aristocracy among the wealthy and noble, and marked a person’s status as a privileged elite in their society.
And bizarrely, the female skeleton has retained “high quality” teeth despite being buried for thousands of years.
The skeleton was discovered by teams from the Institute and the Yevgeny Krupnov Archaeological centre in Russia.