Warrior's 3,900 year old suit of bone armour unearthed in Siberia

First pictures of 'unique' Bronze Age warlord's full battle dress may be a 'war trophy'.

1/9. 'It was more precious than life, because it saved life'. Picture: The Siberian Times

Archeologists are intrigued by the discovery of the complete set of well-preserved bone armour which is seen as having belonged to an 'elite' warrior. The armour was in 'perfect condition' - and in its era was 'more precious than life', say experts.

It was buried separate from its owner and no other examples of such battle dress have been found around Omsk. Analysis is expected to determine its exact age but Siberian archeologists say it dates from 3,900 to 3,500 years ago.

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Nearby archeological finds are from the Krotov culture, lived in forest steppe area of Western Siberia, but this bone armour more closely resembles that of the  Samus-Seyminskaya culture, which originated in the area of the Altai Mountains, some 1,000 km to the south east, and migrated to the Omsk area. The armour could have been a gift, or an exchange, or was perhaps the spoils of war.

Boris Konikov, curator of excavations, said: 'It is unique first of all because such armour was highly valued. It was more precious than life, because it saved life.

'Secondly, it was found in a settlement, and this has never happened before. There were found separate fragments in burials, like on Rostovka burial ground.' [...] siberiantimes.com/


Actualización 11-09-14: Arqueólogos descubren una armadura hecha de huesos de la Edad del Bronce
Un grupo de arqueólogos que excavaron un sitio histórico ubicado en la región de Omsk, Siberia, encontraron una armadura hecha de distintos partes de huesos, según reportó el diario Siberian Times.
 
El artefacto, que podría tener entre 3,500 y 3,900 años de antigüedad, fue encontrado cerca del río Irtysh, en el sitio de construcción de un hotel de cinco estrellas.

La armadura, que pertenece a la Edad del Bronce, podría pertenecer a la cultura Samus-Seyminskaya, que emigró a Omsk proveniente de la Montaña de Altai.

Los arqueólogos creen que la armadura pudo haber sido un regalo, parte de un trueque o incluso botín de guerra.

Sin embargo, de una cosa estamos seguros: este artefacto no estaría nada fuera de lugar en las obras de fantasía de escritores como George R.R. Martin, o Tolkien.