Female warrior was buried with legs wide apart in the ‘riding position’ as if on a horse journeying into the afterlife 2,400 years ago

• Site was discovered at Devitsa V ancient necropolis in Russia’s Voronezh region
• The horsewoman, aged between 20 and 35, had her tendons cut after death
• Three other Amazon warriors who died at same time were found alongside her

An extraordinary 2,400-year-old female warrior was buried in the ‘riding position’ as she journeyed to the afterlife.

The burial site was discovered at the Devitsa V ancient necropolis in Russia’s Voronezh region. 

The horsewoman, aged between 20 and 35, had her tendons cut after death to allow her legs to be apart as if on a horse, say Russian archaeologists.

The 2,400-year-old female warrior was discovered at the Devitsa V ancient necropolis in Russia’s Voronezh region

Two spears and a giant bronze hand mirror the size of a frying pan were buried near her and she wore a bracelet of precious glass beads round her wrist.

There were also two vessels – an incense burner and a black-lacquered one-handed goblet – by her feet.

Three other Amazon warriors were also found alongside her in what has since been deemed ‘a unique discovery’. 

Three other Amazon warriors were also found alongside her in what has since been deemed ‘a unique discovery’

One was a matriarch aged between 45 and 50 who was buried wearing her decorative Scythian ceremonial headdress known as a kalaf with amphora-shaped pendants

All four females died and were buried at the same time but scientists cannot yet work out why.

One was a matriarch aged between 45 and 50 who was buried wearing her decorative Scythian ceremonial headdress known as a kalaf with amphora-shaped pendants.

It was made of an alloy comprising gold, silver, copper and a small amount of iron.

Next to the older woman’s head was an iron knife wrapped in a piece of cloth and a rare type of iron arrow-head with a forked end.

All four females died and were buried at the site at the same time but scientists cannot yet work out why

In the burial mound the remains of a much younger female child Amazon warrior were found aged only 12 or 13.

Valery Gulyaev, head of the Donskaya archeological expedition which made the discovery, said: ‘This is the first time that we see a burial of four Amazon warriors together, and of such different ages.

‘We came across a riddle as we see two women in their prime, one teenager, and one woman who was relatively old by Scythian standards.

The tombs were partly plundered between 100 and 200 years after the mound was made. Pictured: Part of a tiara found at the site

Multiple weaponry in the burials makes clear these females were legendary Amazon warriors, according to researchers

‘How could they all die at the same time?

‘There are no traces of trauma on their bones.

‘Two women whose bones were scattered (by grave robbers) show signs of tuberculosis and brucellosis on their bones.

‘But these illnesses do not cause simultaneous deaths. ‘Therefore we cannot yet understand the reason of their deaths, and why as many as four women of different ages were buried simultaneously.’

Several vessels were found at the burial site including a black lacquer one-handed kanfar (left), a black lacquer ariballic lekif with red-figured palmette (centre) and a molded incense burner (right)

A giant bronze hand mirror the size of a frying pan (left) and iron spearheads (right) were also found buried at the site

The tombs were partly plundered between 100 and 200 years after the mound was made which damaged two of the graves.

Multiple weaponry in the burials makes clear these females were legendary Amazon warriors, according to the researchers.

Female fighters were a phenomenon nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of Eastern Europe of the Scythian era.  

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