A Strange Artifact Was Discovered Next to a Woman’s Skeleton During Excavations in Siberia
Archaeological excavations have come as a big surprise to researchers in Siberia. Next to the skeleton of a woman, they found a strange object shaped like a modern smartphone. The artifact is believed to be about 2100 years old.
Millennial “smartphone”
The discovery happened a few years ago, in a region known as “Russian Atlantis” (because it is submerged for a good part of the year after the construction of a dam). The black rectangular object, which was close to the skeleton’s pelvis, measures about 18 cm long and 9 cm wide. Archaeologists have dubbed the artifact “Natasha’s iPhone,” in reference to the name they gave the woman. The “smartphone” drew attention after researcher Pavel Leus posted a photo of it on social media.
Despite actually resembling a smartphone, the millennia-old artifact has nothing electronic about it. It is, in fact, a belt buckle. According to the researchers, the object is made of jet (a gemstone) and features inlays of small mother-of-pearl, carnelian, and turquoise beads.
The tomb where the smartphone was found is in the Siberian territory of Tuva, near the border with Mongolia. There, archaeologists have identified two burial sites dating back to the Xiongnu period, which lasted from the third century B.C. to the end of the first century A.D. Similar artifacts have been discovered elsewhere in the region, suggesting that this type of ornament was common among the Xiongnu people.
