Another grave in ancient burial shows ‘expensive jewellery’ brought home to lived ones from Europe.

Gold plaque, decorated with filigree and granulation and gems. . Picture here and below: Artur Kharinsky

The Mongol ‘woman fighter’ was around 30 to 40 years old and was tall for her time – some 180 centimetres in height, say archeologists from Irkutsk National Research Technical University who took part in excavations at two sites in the Khövsgöl (Khubsugul) area in northern Mongolia, close to the Russian border.

The suspected female fighter capable of battling men was buried entirely with ‘male items’ in a wooden coffin made of a whole log at Urd Khyar 1 site.

Professor Artur Kharinsky, leader of the expedition, told The Siberian Times: ‘The buried person we discovered is a kind of ‘Mongolian Amazon’, a strong enough lady who can overcome some men.

The suspected female fighter capable of battling men was buried entirely with ‘male items’ in a wooden coffin made of a whole log at Urd Khyar 1 site.   

‘It can be assumed that she was a warrior, since she was buried with a long iron knife, hatchet, saddle with stirrups and a bronze bowl, an extremely rare attribute for female burials.

‘She has large limb bones, which indicates her physical strength.’

Despite her physical prowess, she was – by her death – ‘seriously ill’, said the professor.

‘She had lost most of her teeth during her lifetime,’ he explained. The holes in the roots of the teeth were overgrown, and growths appeared on the bones of the jaws.

‘This was definitely not was not some (battle) injury.

‘We do not see any traces of combat injuries on her bones, but we presume that she would have taken part in fights along with men.’

Iron harchet and long iron knife found in the Amazon’s grave.

A slightly earlier find in the neighbouring Urd Khyar 2 burial shows a ‘wealthy’ female from the late 13th century buried with ‘expensive gifts from Europe’.

Professor Kharinsky believes that these precious trophies were brought to this woman by her fiancee or husband, who took part in the conquests in Europe.

He said: ‘These things are clearly of European origin and could be obtained by a Mongol warrior during a campaign in the West, and then presented to his beloved one.

‘These items are not the result of trading, they did not preserve their integrity.

‘They were clearly the result of a share of booty between the warriors.’

Of significance was not the object as a whole, but the precious material it was made of.

‘The woman was quite wealthy. In the area of her belt there was a bronze mirror, on the reverse side of which were images of dragons.

Chinese drawings show wealthy Mongolian women wearing boghta.

‘Near the bones of the right leg were found the remains of a birch bark base of the headdress called boghta.

‘This headdress is a characteristic part of the costume of Mongolian women of the imperial period.

‘Most likely, women did not participate in the campaign to the West.

‘It was attended by men – their relatives, who brought trophies home.’

Excavations took place at two sites in the Khövsgöl (Khubsugul) area in northern Mongolia, close to the Russian border.

The Mongols surged through such lands as modern-day European Russia, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and southern Germany.

All the finds will remain in Mongolia.

Analysis will be conducted in the laboratories of Ulaanbaatar State University. The antiquities will be passed to local museums.

The international team was headed by Professor Artur Kharinsky. Other experts taking part were Professor Dmitry Kichigin, laboratory assistant Matvey Portnyagin, along with students of Irkutsk State University.

The curator of the Mongolian group, teacher Orgilbayar Samdantsoodol and undergraduates of Ulaanbaatar State University also participated in the excavations.