An ancient warrior's burial has been found on the first day of excavations at the Arabatskaya Strelka site in Ukraine's Henichesk District.

"This is a great day! Today, the first day of excavations started by the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine at Arabatskaya Strelka, we found the burial of 2,000-year-old Sarmatian warrior, a rider about 160cm tall, his head facing north-west, with his iron sword and a vase next to him", said archaeologist Oksana Chornobrytsev.

Grave of Sarmatian warrior found in southern Ukraine (Credit: Oksana Chornobrivtseva)

Originating in the central parts of the Eurasian Steppe, the Sarmatians were a large confederation nomadic Iranian tribes that flourished from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD.

(Credit: Oksana Chornobrivtseva)

These tribes occupied much of southern Ukraine, inhabiting steppe areas from the watershed of Tisza and the Danube to the Aral Sea.

Source: Херсонці [September 24, 2018]