The Ukok Plateau is a plateau located at the junction of the state borders of Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Russia. This is an ancient land that contains many mysteries. Even the name of the plateau itself translates as "listen to heaven".
The Scythian tribes that inhabited this region more than 2000 years ago considered Ukok a sacred place and used it for burial of the most noble and respected members of society. Archaeologists have discovered over 150 graves.
In one of the mounds, they managed to find the mummy of a young woman, who was immediately named the "Altai princess". The find was unique in its preservation: rich clothing remained on the body, tattoos were visible on the skin, and the remnants of an intricate hairstyle on the head.
The mummy made a lot of noise in the media, as the Altaians claimed that the plateau had always been a sacred place for them and that excavations were simply inappropriate here. Moreover, they knew about the location of the "princess" mound, which was revered as princess Kadyn for centuries. Some even argued that all the troubles that befell this region in the future are associated with the opening of this grave.
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With the slogans “Down with the barbarity on the part of archaeologists” and “Let's stop the desecration of national shrines,” the local community managed to get the Altai parliament to get a temporary moratorium on archaeological activities in the Ukok plateau area.