DNA testing was due to take place on other warrior graves, 38 of which are still intact, but according to Mayor's contacts in Iran, that DNA research was halted in August 2020 due to a lack of resources. Archaeologist Alireza Hejebri-Nobari confirmed in a 2004 interview that the DNA found in one belonged to a woman. In the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, 109 warrior graves were unearthed. Excavations within the modern borders of Iran have revealed the existence of female warriors. The Sarmatians were a people of Iranian heritage, with men and women skilled in horsemanship and battle. In December 2019, the graves of four female warriors from the 4th Century BC Sarmatian region were found in the village of Devitsa, in what is now Western Russia. While the story of a race of warrior women first appeared in Greek mythology, excavations across the north and east of the Black Sea region have revealed that warrior women like the Amazons existed in real life.

The Amazons of Greek mythology and the real-life warrior women that led to this iconic modern-day Wonder Woman might, in fact, have roots in ancient Persia – modern-day Iran. Contemporary audiences may recognise the character of Wonder Woman – as played by Gal Gadot in Jenkins' films, or perhaps US actress Lynda Carter, star of the 1970s ABC and CBS TV series, or as the original comic book character, which first appeared in the US in 1941 – more than the stories that inspired the character. These are mere blink-and-you'll-miss-it nods to Prince's Amazonian backstory. Both films contain brief early sequences, told in flashback, where we find a young Diana Prince on her birth island of Themyscira, competing alongside veteran woman warriors in tournaments of Olympic proportions. Wonder Woman (2017) takes place in Europe during World War One, exploring the traumatising effects of warfare on humanity its successor is situated in Washington DC, 70 years later. Truth-seeking compels us to ask complex questions about history and cultural memory – and relates to the inspiration for Wonder Woman's own origin story. The concept of truth is central to Patty Jenkins’ film, Wonder Woman 1984, the second in her superheroine franchise.

Wonder woman rebirth