Archaeologists have unearthed the skeletal remains of ancient warriors with spears and daggers during the construction of the Corridor 10 highway project in the region of Pirot in south-east Serbia. They have been dated as 2,500 years-old.
Prior to the Roman conquest of Serbia in the 1 st century BC, the region of Pirot was ruled by Thracians, a group of Indo-Europeans tribes which were first mentioned in the Greek Iliad as allies of the Trojans in the war against the Greeks.
”We have found three skeletal remains of warriors with spears, daggers and bronze ornaments, and decorations of various kinds,” said Mirjana Blagojevic, archaeologist from Serbia’s institute for the protection of cultural patrimony.
The significance of the finding lies in the fact that it is the first time archaeologists have found an entire corpse as normally remains were buried after cremation.
Two years ago, archaeologists uncovered an ancient suburb of Pirot called Suburbium and the remains of the legendary 2,000-year-old Roman road, Via Militaris. The skeletons were discovered in this district, close to what is now the border of modern day Bulgaria.