Archaeologists discover treasure trove at ancient 'Amazon' warrior's tomb

Artifacts found in the ancient tomb of a woman warrior.

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last updated 17 August 2015

Archaeologists quite literally struck gold with the recent discovery of the ancient grave of a Sarmatian warrior woman from the first century A.D. In the intact burial mound found in southern Russia, archaeologists uncovered a trove of gold and silver jewelry, a gem with an inscription in Aramaic, and more than 100 arrowheads. The items inside the tomb range in date from the first century B.C. to the first century A.D., which could mean that "the most ancient things were handed down for a long time and finally were buried with this noble woman," the Russian Institute of Archaeology's Roman Mimokhod says. "It is rather unique. I have not seen such a combination before and have not heard about it."

The tomb is believed to belong to a female fighter who was a Sarmatian, a group that worshiped fire, played a prominent role in warfare, and is believed to have inspired the Amazons of Greek mythology. The nomadic people migrated from central Asia to the Ural Mountains between the sixth and fourth century B.C. and flourished from the fifth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. The woman, who is believed to have reached old age, was buried with a man, who archaeologists believe may be her husband.