A meeting of civilisations: The mystery of China's celtic mummies
Solid as a warrior of the Caledonii tribe, the man’s hair is reddish brown flecked with grey, framing high cheekbones, a long nose, full lips and a ginger beard. When he lived three thousand years ago, he stood six feet tall, and was buried wearing a red twill tunic and tartan leggings. He looks like a Bronze Age European. In fact, he’s every inch a Celt. Even his DNA says so. He lies near three women and a baby, all of Celtic origins. So what were they doing in the Taklamakan deser,t in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang — thousands of miles east of the Celtic civilisation in Europe?