VORONEZH, RUSSIA—According to a statement released by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, more than 30 iron arrowheads, an iron hook made in the shape of a bird, fragments of a horse harness, iron hooks for hanging harnesses, iron knives, vessels, animal bones, and a well-preserved ceremonial headdress have been recovered from a Scythian burial mound at cemetery Devitsa V, which is located in western Russia, near the Don River. Fragments of similar headdresses have been found in other Scythian burials damaged by plowing. Archaeologist Valerii Guliaev said the mound, which has been dated to the late fourth century B.C., contained the remains of four women who had all been buried at the same time. Two of them were between the ages of 20 and 35, one was between 45 and 50, and the fourth was about 12 or 13 years old at the time of death. Two of the burials had been robbed in antiquity. The highly decorated headdress, made of an alloy of gold, copper, silver, and iron, was found near the head of the 45- to 50-year-old woman. The researchers have not been able to determine the causes of the women’s deaths, or why they were buried at the same time. For more on Scythian burials, go to "Rites of the Scythians."
