The ancient cemetery contains the remains of five people, including the remains of a woman and a child who were buried with an array of funerary goods, such as a crescent-shaped necklace, a bronze mirror, and gold earrings.
These mounds were created by the Scythians, a term used to describe the culture-related nomadic groups that lived on the steppes between the Black Sea and China from about 800 BC to about AD 300.
The burial mound known as Kurgan is located near another burial site of a king in the area.
“Given the proximity of the woman’s burial mound to the king’s house – only 656 feet (200 metres) – and the valuable artifacts buried with her, I believe she was a figure of great importance in the Bedouin community,” said Lukasz Olskaz. Archaeologist at the Institute of Archeology at Jagiellonian University; Olskaz led the Polish team working alongside Russian archaeologists at the site.
Olskas added that the crescent pendant came out right after the excavation, adding to Live Science, “This artifact that we thought men wore in ancient times was buried, because objects of similar shape were previously found in men’s burials in Kurgan in southern Siberia.” .