Oleksandr Symonenko

Oleksandr Symonenko received his Ph.D. and Doctor of Archaeology degrees from the Institute of Archaeology of Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences in Kiev, has been elected a Corresponding Member of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Berlin. His research interests lie, broadly, in the areas of archaeology and history of Sarmatians and he is currently completing a book about Sarmatian invasion into North Pontic region in the mid-1st cent. AD. As a field archaeologist he is a well-known expert in the barrow excavation and has spent 25 campaigns in Ukraine, Russia, and Hungary. His special academic interest is the origin of Sarmatians in the light of a new discoveries and revision of known artifacts and theories. During his stay in ISAW he will pursue his research on the Inner Asia antiquities and, in particular, explore the idea of the origination of ruling Sarmatian clan Alans from the people of Pazyryk culture who lived for a long period in the Hsiung-nu milieu close to China.