2,300-Year-Old Plush Bird from the Altai Mountains of Siberia, c.400-300 BCE: this figure was crafted with a felt body and reindeer-fur stuffing, all of which remains intact [3888×4593]

This plush bird was sealed in the frozen barrows of Pazyryk, Siberia, for more than two millennia, but it’s still remarkably well-preserved, thanks to the unique conditions in which it was buried. The permafrost ice lense formation that runs beneath the site served as an insulating layer, preventing the soil from heating during the summer and allowing it to quickly freeze during the winter, which helped to produce a separate microclimate within the stone walls of the barrows, aiding in the preservation of the artifacts inside.

This is just one of the many well-preserved artifacts that have been found at Pazyryk, and it’s attributed to the Scythian/Altaic cultures.

#Sources & More Info:
– The Hermitage Museum: [Swan](https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/digital-collection/879864?lng=en)
– University of Washington: [Artifacts from Pazyryk and Southern Siberia](https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/shm/shmpazyryk.html)