‘Alien boy’ found in 2,000-year-old Crimean tomb was a trainee Sarmatian fighter

An "alien boy" with a weirdly elongated skull found in a tomb in Crimea was in fact a trainee ancient warrior, say archeologists. Elongated skulls were traditional for the Sarmatian culture. The artificially elongated skull was a sign of a "true warrior". The deformation 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. The boy warrior from the second century AD is believed to have been aged between 18 months and two years old when he died.