When I was traveling around the Soviet Union way back in the summer of 1964, people were talking about a mummy that had been found in a cave in Dagestan, in the northeast of the Caucasus. It wasn't long before scholars were debating how old it was, with two opinions coming to the fore: either it was from the 5th century B.C. or the 10th century B.C.
The KGB was called in to settle the dispute, and two seasoned interrogators were sent into the cave where the mummy lay. Early the next morning, the KGB men emerged from the cave, thin gray neckties askew and hair matted in sweat from their grueling interrogation.
"The mummy is from the 10th century B.C. He finally talked."