The difficulty with the Sarmatians is that almost nothing of them survives above ground. What is known comes from grave goods, from Roman writers who met them in the field, and from the occasional carved relief. Turning that into something a visitor can stand in front of requires reconstruction — and reconstruction requires argument.
At AUXILIA in 2024 the Society exhibited two full-scale reconstructions: a Scythian warrior of the fifth century BC and a Sarmatian of the first century AD, each drawn from the archaeological record and shown alongside the reconstructed weapons and equipment that support it. A yurt stood open to visitors, and a rider in scale armour worked the ground between the tents.
Beside the banners lay the objects themselves — blades, fittings and harness — so that the painted figure and the physical evidence could be read against one another.
