Discover the mystery of dog cemetery dating back 2,000 years

The meaning of a 2,000-year-old dog site that has just been discovered in Russia reveals a lot of information about the relationship between this faithful pet and the people of ancient times.

The remains of more than 100 dogs have been discovered at Ust-Polui archaeological site, in the town of Salekhard (Russia), in the Arctic Circle.
There have been many graves buried dogs have been discovered before, but what makes the dog cemetery in Ust-Polui become special and noticeable when there are 115 dog remains buried in the same place.

Picture 1 of Discover the mystery of dog cemetery dating back 2,000 years
Dog bones are found in dog cemeteries.

Professor Robert Losey - an archaeologist at the University of Alberta (Canada) told Live Science: "The role of dogs in Ust-Polui is very diverse and complex". According to him, they took on many duties at the time, such as skiing, hunting reindeer and birds, and even offering sacrifices.

Picture 2 of Discover the mystery of dog cemetery dating back 2,000 years
The remaining traces show that dogs have been made meat for food.

In the dog graveyard, two sleighs and reindeer winnings were found. The remaining traces show that dogs were made meat for food; or use during the ceremony. In one location, the remains of 15 piled dogs were discovered. Their skulls were smashed in the same way.

Picture 3 of Discover the mystery of dog cemetery dating back 2,000 years
Places to discover dog graveyards.

Of the 115 dog remains found, only 5 are carefully buried, intact, indicating that these animals have a very close relationship with their owners.

Each of these dog graves contains an intact skeleton, buried in a shallow pit, similar to the graves of people in this area. These bones show that they were not killed like 110 dogs left in the graveyard.

In an article from 2013, Professor Losey published the results of a research on a dog graveyard in the Lake Baikal area in Siberia, dating back to 8,000 years. They are not killed or sacrificed.

Picture 4 of Discover the mystery of dog cemetery dating back 2,000 years
In 2013, Professor Losey published the results of a research on a dog graveyard in the Lake Baikal area in Siberia.