These artifacts provided one of the clearest images of elite women's clothing in the Scythian forest-steppe region. The research was published in the journal Arts.
A double burial was discovered in a mound dating back to the last quarter of the 6th century BC, containing the remains of a man between 30 and 40 years old and a young woman between 18 and 22 years old. Although the tomb had been looted earlier, it preserved rare organic finds alongside the woman, including the remains of a leather cap near her head and parts of a belt decorated with bronze plates.
Among the other finds were a bronze mirror, a dice set, a glazed black pottery cup, and fragments of a wooden vessel. All these artifacts point to the woman's high social status and her possible involvement in rituals.
Parts of a leather belt decorated with rows of small bronze plates were made in the same decorative tradition as the rare leather hat from the same tomb.q
The organic material in ancient tombs is almost completely lost, making this discovery particularly valuable. The skin was extracted from a mound of earth, but it began to deteriorate rapidly after removal. Restorers Serhiy Omelnik and Vladimir Bolotin had to stabilize the material directly under field conditions, followed by complex laboratory restoration work. The skin was shrinking and difficult to soften, but the experts managed to stabilize the pieces while preserving their shape and details
The cap was low and flat, almost cylindrical in shape, and decorated with numerous small bronze pin-like plates. Inside, the remains of a thin leather lining were found, which would have made the cap more comfortable and protected the head from the sharp ends of the fasteners. The belt was made using the same technique, although it was in worse conditionA
Irina Schramko, the study's author, noted that this decorative style is unknown in the classical Scythian world, but bears clear similarities to Iron Age traditions in Central Europe, particularly in the Alpine region and the lands associated with the Japod tribe (modern-day Croatia).
The hat's shape resembles the traditional headdress known as a "lika," a low, flat, cylindrical hat that remains part of the folk costume in the Croatian region of Lika. However, the ancient piece and its modern counterpart are separated by more than two thousand years.
DNA analysis revealed a genetic link between the woman and Central European populations, suggesting she likely belonged to the local elite but maintained traditions or ancestry connected to Central European cultures. The use of bronze instead of gold underscores that the value of these artifacts lay not only in their material wealth but also in their identity and ritual significance.
