28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2,000-Year-Old Dancing Man Statuette Unearthed in Siberia

During excavations for a new bridge over the Ob River in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest district, a ten-centimeter-tall figurine was discovered. The item was a four-inch (10-centimeter) bronze humanlike dancing figurine sculpted in a way that seemed to depict a figure in motion.

Archaeology specialist Andrey Borodovsky identified the find as “one of the most significant ever made” ever found in the area.

Professor Andrey Borodovsky, an archaeologist with the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian branch, told The Siberian Times that the statue depicts an Indian holy dancer and was most likely made about the year 100 BC in Northern India. Given that Novosibirsk and India are separated by 2,500 to 3,000 miles (4,000 to 5,000 kilometers) of rough and sometimes mountainous terrain, the discovery of such a statue on Siberian soil was very surprising.

The little dancer was most likely left on the riverbank as a gift to the water spirits to ensure a peaceful crossing. It’s also possible that it passed through many hands on the way from India to Siberia.

The figurine was discovered by a person (presumably a construction worker) who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being. Negotiations are pending, but the discoverer has so far refused to hand over the specimen to a museum for further research. He was aware of Borodovsky’s work and prestige, so he decided to allow Borodovsky to study the piece, photograph it, and videos it.

In this image you can see how small the dancing figurine is compared to a human hand. ( The Siberian Times )
In this image you can see how small the dancing figurine is compared to a human hand. ( The Siberian Times )

 The Enigmatic Indian Dancer

The dancing man is seen leaned right, his broken arms lifted in the air and his head turned to the left and forward, as though the sculptor was attempting to depict a moment of the dancer twirling counter-clockwise, maybe during a whirling dance. This could have been one of those ecstatic dances used by priests or worshippers in Oriental practice to bond with a god.

The little dancer was portrayed wearing a spacious shirt draping over his shoulder, which could have been made from thin silk, a shirt-like hem, and a long belt.

‘I see the tilt of the head as something similar to what Semazen dervishes did when they danced. They tilted heads to the left to put pressure on the carotid artery, which then led to them getting into a trance while whirling. The man also has a dot on the forehead, which we see in golden toreutics of Afghanistan,’ said Dr. Borodovsky.

He thinks the dancer was made about 2,100 years ago in Northern India, and that it was part of a larger piece, probably a circular ceremonial table with many dancers mounted along its sides.

Related Articles

Google Earth Helped Archaeologists Make İmportant Discoveries in Leicestershire

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

After Google Earth revealed traces of underground structures, archaeologists digging at a Roman settlement in Leicestershire say they have made...

An architectural gem from the medieval monastery of Posa, Germany

26 July 2023

26 July 2023

Archaeological excavations have been taking place on the Posaer Berg (Posa Hill) near Zeitz (Burgenland) every year since 2017. They...

Wasabi Isn’t Just For Sushi: It is an Innovative Solution for Preserving Ancient Papyrus

28 February 2024

28 February 2024

A new natural technique for cleaning and preserving priceless ancient Egyptian papyrus that are in danger from bacteria and fungi...

“Operation Heritage” uncovers an artifact smuggling ring in Turkey

1 June 2022

1 June 2022

Turkish security forces searched locations in 38 regions on Tuesday in one of the largest operations against artifact smugglers, with...

Discoveries on the island of Minorca shed light on the history of Roman conquests in the Balearic Islands

31 July 2021

31 July 2021

The University of Alicante Institute for Archeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH) Researchs discovered a collection of buried Roman antiquities going...

A 2,000-year-old monumental Roman villa Found Under a Seaside May Be Pliny the Elder’s house

23 January 2024

23 January 2024

Researchers have discovered the remnants of a massive Roman villa thought to have ties to Pliny the Elder while working...

2600-year-old Med period artifacts found in Oluz Höyük, in Turkey

17 October 2022

17 October 2022

During the Oluz Höyük excavations in Amasya, artifacts dating back to the Med Kingdom period were found, dating back to...

A New Hypothesis Tries to Explain What Triggers People’s Big Brains

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The big brain is the decisive feature of our species. Not only are they the most complex organs in the...

An extraordinary archaeological discovery in Spain: A new decorated stela has been found in context, in the 3000-year-old funerary complex

15 October 2023

15 October 2023 2

Archaeologists have discovered a new decorated stela in the 3000-year-old burial complex of Las Capellanías in Cañaveral de León (Huelva,...

45,000 years ago, Neanderthals in the Swabian Jura used complex tool-making techniques

13 September 2021

13 September 2021

Findings that will change our perception of Neanderthals’ sophistication A team from the University of Tübingen have proved that Middle...

Archaeologists discovered the secret ingredient that made Mayan plaster durable

20 April 2023

20 April 2023

Ancient Mayan masons had their own secrets for making lime plasters, mortars, and plasters, which they used to build their...

A rare 6,000-year-old elephant ivory vessel was unearthed near Beersheba

9 April 2024

9 April 2024

A recent excavation near Beersheba in southern Israel uncovered an ivory vessel crafted of elephant tusks dating to the Chalcolithic...

Prehistoric Star Map Carved in Stone Discovered in Bulgaria

14 July 2025

14 July 2025

A recently uncovered archaeological site in the Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria is now entering the scientific spotlight. In a...

Archaeologists have discovered sandstone blocks belonging to a pharaoh’s temple covered with hieroglyphs in Sudan

2 March 2023

2 March 2023

Polish archaeologists have discovered sandstone blocks belonging to a pharaoh’s temple covered with hieroglyphs during excavations at Old Dongola in...

Human remains found at prison sewer site are 4,500 years old in East Yorkshire

26 March 2024

26 March 2024

Archaeologists investigating the site of a new sewer to serve a jail being built at Full Sutton in East Yorkshire,...