The Solyony Dol burial ground (Bredinsky district, Chelyabinsk region) was studied in 2006–2010 by an expedition of the Chelyabinsk State University under the leadership of Ilya Lyubchansky. The research yielded paleoanthropological material from two male and three female skeletons, dated to the late 2–4 centuries AD. A burial trough made of larch covered with the remains of birch bark was found in the mound. The skeletal bones belong to a man about 40 years of age. The remains have traces of the severe injuries that were healed: the nose is broken on the right side, there are traces of two strong blows of compression and chopping type on the frontal-parietal part of the skull. They apparently indicate that the man was involved in at least three serious fights. Fragments of an iron sword were found in the grave. Its blade is 20 centimeters long, 5 centimeters wide and 0.5 centimeter thick. All this confirms the opinion that foreign groups entered the region and conflicts with them became more frequent.
The reconstruction of the physical appearance of people who lived in the distant past begins with the determination of age, sex and individual features of the person under study (traces of past injuries and chronic diseases, deformation of the mouth due to loss of teeth, and age-related changes). Anthropologists determine age by tooth abrasion and cranial sutures, as well as by the results of the study of the facial skeleton.
The next stage is the restoration of the external appearance based on the skull. The technique of the anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov involves the restoration of the masseter muscles, which determine the contours of the lower half of the face; the surface of the face is formed according to tables of soft tissue thickness in different parts of the head; then the nose, eyes and mouth are modeled. The work is completed by reproduction of hairstyle and clothes according to historical data. A mold, removed from the bust, is used to make plaster or plastic copies, and the skull that was used is returned to the repository. Today, the results of research by Mikhail Gerasimov, his students and followers are widely used in museum practice, historical reconstructions, plastic surgery and forensics.
