Apr 14, 2017 I Paul Seaburn

1,000-Year-Old Mummy Found Buried in Adidas Boots

Overall they look quite kinky but stylish - I wouldn't mind wearing them now in a cold climate. Those high-quality stitches, the bright red and black stripes, the length - I would buy them now in no time.

Nike is not going to like this. Archeologists in Mongolia have found the mummified remains of a woman who lived 1,000-to-1,500 years ago and her kinky boots look like they could have come out of a modern-day Adidas shoe store. Is she a time traveler? Probably not, but new evidence uncovered recently suggests she may have been murdered. Was it for her fashionable boots?

 

The mummy was discovered a year ago in the Altai mountains region of Mongolia and the close resemblance of her boots to modern Adidas brought the mummy immediate fame –- although no endorsement deals. However, it was the things she was buried with that caused archeologists to call it “the first complete Turkic burial at least in Mongolia - and probably in all Central Asia.” “Turkic” is a broad term describing multiple Asian and Eastern European ethnic groups.

While the discovery was made in April 2016, it has taken a year to carefully clean the mummy, her boots and the other contents of her grave. Those objects included Mongolian clothes, a clay vase, an iron kettle, pillows, a knife that was in excellent shape, a sheep's head, a felt travel bag which contained the rest of the sheep, a saddle, a bridle and the horse they rode in on. That’s right – it appears the woman was buried with her horse, which shows signs that it was killed just for the funeral.

Speaking of killing, once the researchers had unwrapped the well-preserved remains, their analysis of the skeleton showed that the woman suffered a major blow to the head before her death, which was the probable cause of the 20-to-30-year-old woman’s demise. Was it an accident or could she have been murdered?

According to the new report in The Siberian Times, the woman also had a handbag containing a comb and mirror and equipment that would have been used for sewing and embroidering – her clothing contained elaborate embroidered designs. All of these fine possessions and supplies for the afterlife, not to mention an entire horse and a pair of stylish kinky boots, suggest the woman was rich or an aristocrat, but archeologists say the seamstress tools indicate she was an average person of the times.

Further study of the mummy and her possessions may solve the murder mystery, but the well-preserved grave -- due to the 2.8 km/1.7 mile altitude it was found at -- gives a fantastically detailed look at Turkic life in Mongolia in the 6th century.

Maybe they’ll find out her time in the 10K.

Paul Seaburn

Paul Seaburn is the editor at Mysterious Universe and its most prolific writer. He’s written for TV shows such as "The Tonight Show", "Politically Incorrect" and an award-winning children’s program. He's been published in “The New York Times" and "Huffington Post” and has co-authored numerous collections of trivia, puzzles and humor. His “What in the World!” podcast is a fun look at the latest weird and paranormal news, strange sports stories and odd trivia. Paul likes to add a bit of humor to each MU post he crafts. After all, the mysterious doesn't always have to be serious.

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