By Sara Bright
How A 2,000-Year Old Skeleton Uncovered The Secrets Of The Sarmatian Horsemen In Britain
Imagine you are driving on a busy road in Cambridgeshire, England, and you see a sign that says “Archaeological Excavation Ahead”. You might be curious about what the workers are digging up, but you probably wouldn’t expect to find a 2,000-year old skeleton that belongs to a man from the other side of the Roman Empire.
That’s exactly what happened in 2023, when a team of archaeologists working on the A14 road improvement project discovered a complete and well-preserved skeleton of a young man in a ditch. He had no personal possessions or grave goods with him, and his burial was simple and unremarkable. But his DNA told a different story.
Using the latest ancient DNA analysis methods, researchers from the Francis Crick Institute and the University of Cambridge were able to extract and decode his genetic code from a tiny bone in his inner ear. They found out that he was a Sarmatian, a nomadic group of Iranian-speaking people who lived in the area that is currently southern Russia, Armenia, and Ukraine.
The Sarmatians were renowned for their horse-riding skills and their fearsome weapons, such as long swords and lances. They were also known for their distinctive culture and art, which influenced the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
But how did a Sarmatian end up in Britain, thousands of miles away from his homeland?
The answer lies in a historical episode that is often overlooked by the mainstream narratives of Roman Britain. In the second century AD, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius faced a series of wars against the Germanic tribes on the northern frontier of the empire. To secure his borders, he made a peace treaty with the Sarmatians, who were also under threat from the invaders. As part of the deal, he recruited 5,500 Sarmatian cavalrymen to serve in the Roman army, and sent them to Britain, where they were stationed at various forts along Hadrian’s Wall and beyond.
The Sarmatians in Britain were not just soldiers, but also settlers, traders, and cultural ambassadors. They brought with them their families, their customs, their religion, and their art. They interacted with the local population, both Roman and native, and left behind traces of their presence in the archaeological record. For example, some of the Sarmatian tombstones found in Britain show depictions of their characteristic weapons, animals, and symbols, such as the dragon, the snake, and the sun.
The Sarmatians in Britain also left behind a legacy in the literary and oral traditions of the island. Some scholars have argued that the Sarmatians were the inspiration for the stories of King Arthur and his knights, who were said to be descendants of a Roman general and a British princess. The Sarmatians’ prowess in battle, their loyalty to their leader, their code of honor, and their exotic appearance may have influenced the medieval writers who shaped the Arthurian legend. Some of the motifs and characters in the legend, such as the sword Excalibur, the Lady of the Lake, and Sir Lancelot, may have Sarmatian origins or parallels.
The discovery of the Sarmatian skeleton in Cambridgeshire is a remarkable example of how the latest scientific techniques can reveal the hidden stories of ordinary people behind great historical events. By analyzing his DNA, the researchers were able to reconstruct his identity, his origin, his journey, and his life in Britain. They were also able to connect him to a wider context of the Sarmatian presence and influence in Britain, and to a rich and diverse cultural heritage that spans across continents and centuries.
The Sarmatian skeleton is not just a curiosity, but a testimony to the complexity and diversity of Roman Britain, and to the power of DNA to uncover the secrets of the past. He is a reminder that history is not only written by the winners, but also by the wanderers, the warriors, and the horsemen.