From the depths of Russia’s “Atlantis,” a famous archaeological site in southern Siberia that is submerged for the most of the year, archaeologists retrieved what appears to be an iPhone case with jewel accents.

But the back rectangle, which measures about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long and around 4 inches (9 centimeters) wide, is an electronic accessory; it’s a genuine belt buckle made of jet, a material made from purged wood, inlaid with tiny mother-of-pearl, carnelian, and turquoise beads, according to The Siberian Times.

The artefact was discovered in a woman’s burial, lying on the skeleton’s pelvis, by scientists with the Institute for the History of Material Culture at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). According to The Siberian Times, the researchers dubbed the object “Natasha’s iPhone” and the woman “Natasha.”
Even though the ckle was found many years ago, it only recently attracted new attention thanks to Pavel Leus, one of the excavation’s archaeologists and a RAS researcher, who published the photograph of Instagram, according to Leus, who spoke with Live Science in an email.

The place where the so-called iPhoe was buried is in the Siberian area of Tuva, close to the Mongolian border. According to a study co-authored by Leus and published in 2018 in the Journal of Regional Asia Archaeology, archaeologists identified two burial sites there that date to the Xiongnu period around 2,000 years ago: Terezi and Ala-Tey.

According to the Russia Geographical Society (RGS), however, there are just a few weeks each year that archaeologists can reach these historically significant locations. The Sayan Sea, a manmade reservoir, covers the burial sites, which are located in a flood zone, with the exception of when the flood waters recede, which occurs from the end of May through the beginning of June, according to the RGS.

Chinese wu zhu coins, Western Han mirror fragments, beads, pendants, earrings, and garment decorations were all found in the graves at both locations, the researchers noted in their study.

They discovered huge and little jet buckles in three burials in recent years. According to the researchers, the “massive” iPhone-like buckle had holes on its short sides, “with the two round holes on one side for fixing the buckle to the belt and one oval hole on the other side, probably for clasping.” According to radiocarbon dating, the grave’s contents date to between 92 B.C. and A.D. 71.

Jet items from this era are uncommon, but several have been observed in the Upper Volga region of Russia, Transbaikalia, a hilly zone east of Lake Baikal in Russia, Mongolia, and Central Asia, according to Leus. He explained that it’s probable that this kind of ornament originated in the Xiongnu region and was carried west when these nomadic people moved over the Eurasian steppes.

According to a paper released in 2011 by the University of Bonn in Germany, rectangular bronze bowls—many of them etched with ancient designs—have also been found in tombs and settlements in Siberia, Mongolia, and Central Asia.

The authors stated that although bronze and jet belt buckles are occasionally discovered in female burials in some parts of this Central Asian region, “they are generally found in well-furnished graves of warriors.” Leus stated in the email that there are still questions regarding Tuva’s burials and their tombs, but further discoveries are anticipated in the coming months.