The jewellery that proves Siberians worshipped the brown bear: Ring as old as Jesus was worn by slain sacred animal



The ring as old as Christ was unearthed during a dig this summer in Salekhard right on the Arctic Circle

It includes images of a bear's head and paws and is made of high quality bronze - a rare material for the region



An archaeologist at the Scientific Research Centre of the Arctic believes it would have been attached to the claw of a dead bear to honour its memory

A stunning bronze ring made 2,000 years ago is proof that ancient Siberians actively worshipped the brown bear, say archeologists.



The ring - which is as old as Christ - was unearthed during a dig this summer in Salekhard right on the Arctic Circle, and is too small to fit on a woman's finger.



Instead, say experts, it was attached to the claw of a slain bear 'to honour the animal's memory'.



A stunning bronze ring (pictured) made 2,000 years ago is proof that ancient Siberians actively worshipped the brown bear, say archeologists. It was attached to the claw of a slain bear to honour the animal's memory

The ring as old as Christ was unearthed during a dig this summer in Salekhard (pictured) at the Ust-Poluo archeological site right on the Arctic Circle and is too small to fit on a woman's finger

It is a key sign of a 'cult of the bear' adhered to by ancient tribes who came to a site described as an ancient sanctuary of spiritual importance called Ust-Polui around the time of the birth of Christ, reported The Siberian Times.



The ring, which includes images of a bear's head and paws, is made of high quality bronze and was initially thought to have been made for a woman or girl.



Archeologist Andrey Gusev, from the Scientific Research Centre of the Arctic in Salekhard, said: 'Bronze items for this period, and this area of Northern Siberia, are sparse and each bronze thing is a significant addition to our database.'



Other small and precious objects were also found at Ust-Polui - a site described as an ancient sanctuary of spiritual importance -including a small carved figure (left) and a pendant depicting an animal biting a bird (right)

Pictured is an interesting container with a carved bird inside found at the site, which archaeologists believe dates from around the last century BC

The newly-found ring 'is tiny in diameter so even a young girl, let alone a woman, cannot wear it.



'We concluded that it was used in a ritual connected with a bear cult and was put on a bear claw,' he said.



The theory is that the ring was fitted to the claw of a slain bear, an animal worshipped by ancient Khanty tribes as an ancestor and a sacred animal.



Brown bears like the one pictured were worshiped by ancient Khanty tribes as an ancestor and a sacred animal

Here archaeologists work at the site where they found the tiny ring which is so small in diameter it could not fit a girl, leading scientists to conclude it was used in a ritual connected with a bear cult and was put on its claw

Archeologist Andrey Gusev, from the Scientific Research Centre of the Arctic in Salekhard, said: 'Bronze items for this period, and this area of Northern Siberia, are sparse and each bronze thing is a significant addition to our database.' A bronze bird with a mask on its chest is pictured

Mr Gusev said: 'After killing the bear they had a bear festival to honour the animal's memory.



'The head and front paws a bear was adorned with a handkerchief, rings, and for a few days was lying in the house.



'This combination of the images on the ring and the fact that it was found in the sanctuary of Ust-Polui led us to believe that a bear cult was also practiced here.'



While the scientists will search for more evidence,they said the ring 'brings us closer to understanding what rituals the ancient inhabitants had here'.



It is hard to believe that this head of a duck made from antler is around 2,000 years old

The site was originally excavated in the early 1930s but work was halted after Stalin arrested the chief archeologist Vasily Andrianov who was later shot after falsely being found guilty of participating in a plot to assassinate Soviet apparatchik Sergey Kirov. Here a small carved person is pictured

Other remarkable finds in the Arctic treasure trove this year include a bird with a mask on his chest and a pendant showing a fur animal biting a bird, both made from bronze.



Another is a fragment showing the head of a waterfowl, made from antler. All are believed to date to around the last century BC or first century AD.

