What's beneath the ice: the 12 scariest findings in the glaciers

Ice is the best way to keep something known from time immemorial. The ice of our planet keeps a lot of secrets that we have yet to solve. And what has been found, strikes the imagination and only spur interest for further research.

Giant virus

Researchers from the Marseille University of France together with Russian colleagues from the Institute of physicochemical and biological problems found in the permafrost of Siberia, the new virus which has been there for 32 thousand years.

Ice maiden of the Incas, Peru

Mummy girls 14-15 years were found on the slopes of the volcano Nevado Sabancaya in the vastness of Peru in 1999. Experts suggest that of a teenager and several children selected for sacrifice because of the beautiful appearance.

It was found three mummies, which, in contrast to the embalmed Egyptian, was subjected to deep freezing. The body of a seven year old boy was subjected to study, but to explore the remains of six girls scientists have not yet solved. Probably, it once struck by lightning, which may affect the accuracy of the results of the study.

The story of the sacrifice of the three children confirmed near them artifacts of gold, silver, clothing, bowls with food and extravagant headdress of white feathers of unknown birds. In previous studies it was established that before bringing children into the victim, throughout the year, they were fed "elite" foods — maize and dried llama.

The mummy of Princess Ukok, Altay

The mummy dubbed the Altai Princess. It is believed that Ukok died in V—III centuries eke BC and belongs to the Pazyryk culture of the Altai region.

Near the Greenlandic settlement Colacicco on the Western shore of the largest island in the world in 1972 was discovered a whole family mummified by low temperatures. This boy was a year old when he died. Scientists have found that he had down syndrome.

The ice man of the Alps

Similowski man, whose age at the time of detection was about 5,300 years, making him the oldest European mummy, has received from scientists nicknamed ötzi. 19 September 1991, he was found a couple of German tourists while Hiking in the Tyrolean Alps. The remains of a resident of the Chalcolithic era are perfectly preserved thanks to the natural ice preservation. He made a splash in the scientific world — yet nowhere in Europe are not found perfectly survived to the present day the bodies of our ancestors.

Juanita from the Peruvian Andes

Due to the cold peaks of the Andes, the mummy has been preserved very well and now belongs to the Museum of Andean sanctuaries in Arequipa, but often moves through the world in a special sarcophagus.

On the Islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago was discovered well preserved in ice carcass of a female mammoth. But soft tissues, the researchers got another valuable "gift" — the blood of the mammoth. It did not freeze at minus 10 degrees, and scientists suggest that it is this feature that helped mammoths survive in the cold.

Baby Mammoth Yuka

The mammoth was found near the Laptev sea, and his name was Yuka. Scientists believe that Yuka died (Yes, the experts are inclined to believe that it was a female) at least 10 years ago at the age of two and a half years: it has just started to erupt tusks.

The wreckage of the plane of Sigismund Levanevsky

Expedition of the Russian geographical society was accidentally discovered on the Yamal Peninsula debris, which may belong to the plane H-209 nsra pilot Sigismund Levanevsky. The plane along with the crew disappeared without a trace in August 1937. Human remains are not discovered. Maybe the pilots left the cockpit, but did not reach the people.

The remains of the soldiers of the First world in the Alps

With the melting of ice begin to emerge bodies of soldiers of the First world war. In 2014, the remains of 80 killed during the First world war soldiers were found in melting Alpine ice, almost all of them are well preserved and turned into a mummy.

Together with them were found the war pictures, maps, and even products that are perfectly preserved in the cold. The soldiers gave a proper military funeral. Now the main task is the preservation of this heritage.

The remains of Marcel and Francine Dumoulin were found in the Swiss Alps, in the glacier Canlearn. Police have confirmed their identity after a DNA test. The pair was found together with a backpack, watch and a book. The couple left seven children, who after two months of unsuccessful searches sent to foster families.

Frozen baby woolly rhinoceros

The Yakut scientists for the first time in the history of paleontology found a partially-preserved remains of a baby woolly rhinoceros, buried under the permafrost for about 10 thousand years ago. This discovery will help them understand how these animals survive in the harsh ice age climate.