Balázs Tihanyi of the University of Szeged, together with his Hungarian colleagues, examined remains discovered in the 1980s during excavations at the Sárrétudvári-Hizoföld necropolis in eastern Hungary. The scientists noted that the grave, constructed in the 10th century AD, contained artifacts traditionally associated with both female and male grave goods—weapons. Anthropological examination of the bones and DNA analysis revealed that the remains belonged to a woman. This was reported in a paper published in the journal PLoS ONE.
According to the authors of the article, isolated arrowheads had previously been found in early medieval Hungarian burials excavated in the Carpathian Basin. However, archaeologists interpreted such objects as amulets, not weapons. In their new study, the scientists noted that the burial described from the Sárrétudvári-Hizoföld necropolis stands out in this context. In it, archaeologists discovered not only an armor-piercing arrowhead but also fragments of a quiver and a horn plate, which, according to the researchers, represents the remains of a bow placed in the deceased's hands.
