Los esqueletos de cinco personas con cráneos alargados han sido desenterrados en la región de Crimea, anexionada por Rusia, lo que generó rumores de una tumba “alienígena”.

Los restos datan de hace poco menos de 2000 años y se cree que pertenecen a la antigua cultura sármata.

Una madre fue encontrada enterrada con un bebé acostado sobre su pecho, con tres esqueletos más encontrados debajo de ellos en la tumba.

Todos tenían cráneos deformados distintivos, y descubrimientos similares anteriores han dado lugar a informes de tumbas “alienígenas”.

Pero los sármatas consideraban que la remodelación artificial del cráneo era “hermosa”, pero también esencial para los guerreros que incluían mujeres.

El arqueólogo Oleg Markov dijo que los últimos descubrimientos se realizaron en la necrópolis de Kyz-Aul en Crimea.

“The burial contained five skeletons located one above the other,” he said.

“On the upper level was the skeleton of a woman on whose chest lay the remains of a child, and under her there were three more skeletons.

“The skull bones of all had been deformed during their lifetime.

“The so-called elongated skulls were traditional for the Sarmatian culture.

“This is not the first time at the Kyz-Aul necropolis when they find those buried with such deformations of the skull.

“Several years ago, a burial of a child with the same altered cranium was discovered, then journalists dubbed this burial ‘the burial of an alien’.”

In the unlooted grave there was also a jug with a zoomorphic handle shaped as a wild boar.

“Why five people were buried in one grave is not clear yet,” he said.

A study is now underway to understand if they were the victim of “a military conflict or deadly epidemic”.

Ancient practice

The Sarmatian skull elongation process began early in childhood when the bones were still soft, and no surgery was needed.

Special wooden planks were tied to the skull, pressing the bones and gradually altering the shape.

Such deformations were seen as altering the character, and making warriors “more aggressive”.

Nikolay Sudarev, a scientist from the Archaeology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: “They thought this was more beautiful.”

The Sarmatians – who held sway in this region around two thousand years ago – were famed for their female warriors who helped to conquer Crimea in ancient times.

The prominent role of the group’s women in warfare was seen as an inspiration to the legendary Amazon female fighters.

El sitio de entierro en Crimea, anexado de Ucrania en una operación militar de 2014, está cerca de un puente gigante de 5.400 millones de dólares australianos hacia Rusia continental.