Balázs Tihanyi from the University of Szeged, together with his Hungarian colleagues, examined the remains discovered in the 1980s during excavations of the Sárrétudvári-Hizoföld necropolis, which is located in eastern Hungary. The scientists drew attention to the fact that the grave, built in the 10th century AD, contained artefacts that are traditionally associated with both female and male accompanying inventory - weapons. Anthropological examination of the bones and DNA analysis showed that the remains belonged to a woman. This was reported in an article published in the journal PLoS ONE.
According to the authors of the article, individual arrowheads were previously found in early medieval Hungarian burials excavated in the Carpathian Basin. However, archaeologists interpreted such objects as amulets, not weapons. In the new work, the scientists noted that the described burial from the Sárrétudvári-Hizoföld necropolis stands out against this background. In it, archaeologists found not only an armor-piercing arrowhead, but also fragments of a quiver, as well as a horn plate, which, according to the researchers, is the remains of a bow that was placed in the hands of the deceased.
