Russia’s defense minister has taken time out from managing troop movements in Ukraine’s borders to unveil a ‘Dolly the Sheep’ cloning dream involving ancient royal warriors and their preserved DNA preserved in permafrost.
Sergei Shoigu – one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies – spoke about the potential of the extraordinary 3,000-year-old Scythian burials in Tuva, his mountainous native republic in Siberia.
The concept of Tungus burial site of nomadic warriors – often laid to rest with their horses – is in an area known as the Valley of the Kings in Tuva.
When Shoigu, 65, initiated the Russo-Swiss archaeological digs here three years ago at a modern-day shamanka was even drafted in by scientists to ensure the excavations did not anger the spirits.
The defense chief told a session of the Russian Geographic Society, also attended remotely by Putin, on Wednesday: ‘Of course, we would like very much to find the organic matter.’
He was referring to well-preserved remains of ancient people and animals, explained TASS.
‘I believe you understand what would follow that,’ said Shoigu in a broadcast by Zvezda TV.
‘It would be possible to make something of it, if not Dolly the Sheep.’
He added, without explaining more of planned genetic research that ‘in general, it will be very interesting.’
The burials were in permafrost and according to scientists, organic matter should be well preserved there.
He was reported to have conducted several expeditions there already; it is a big international expedition.
‘A lot of things have been confirmed, but a lot remains to be done.’
Shoigu has been in the limelight in recent days spearheading Russia’s build-up of almost 100,000 troops close to Ukraine, triggering fears of a new war – but at this session, he spoke about more ancient warriors.
The burials are among the earliest Scythian remains.
Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC claimed the Scythians made cups from their enemies’ skulls after victory.
The savage warriors are believed to have used their enemies’ skulls as drinking cups. Legend says they drank the blood of their vanquished foes. The valley contains so-called ‘tsar’ mounds from the Scythian era.
It is not the first time Shoigu has spoken about finding ‘organic’ material which can be investigated by scientists for DNA.
While exciting remains have been found, there are hopes to delve deeper into the mounds and find remains similar to a tattooed princess discovered in a mound in Siberia’s Altai Mountains.
The Scythian burial site in Siberia’s Altai Mountains, known as Arzhan 2, began excavation in 1998.
Russian and German archaeologists began excavating the Scythian burial mound on a grassy plain that locals have long called the Valley of the Kings in 2001.
The nomadic Scythian tribes roamed from the Carpathus to the Black Sea region, in the seventh to third centuries BC.
The Scythians are generally believed to have been of Iranian origin and spoke a language similar to a Persian dialect.
In the 7th century BC, the Scythians crossed the Caucasus and frequently raided the Middle East, playing an important role in the political developments of the region.
How Dolly was created: Dolly was the first successfully cloned mammal from an adult cell taken from a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep. The sheep was born at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh in July 1996 and announced to the world on February 22, 1997. She was created using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer involving transferring the nucleus of an adult cell into an unfertilized egg cell that has had its nucleus removed. An electric shock stimulates the hybrid cell to begin dividing and generate an embryo, which was then implanted in a surrogate mother.
Dolly’s creation showed that genes in the nucleus of a mature cell can be reprogrammed to become a complete organism, overturning previous scientific dogma.