Discovered during an archaeological dig in the village of Czulice, the grave is now believed to be one of the oldest Hun burial sites in Europe. Jakub M. Niebylski from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences told National Geographic Polska: “It confirms that migration of the Hunic people covered Polish territories very early.”

Originating from Mongolia and China, the Huns were a nomadic race who were feared for their fighting skills - often clashing with the Romans, they were especially famed for the way in which they used horses and bows in battle.

It is likely they first entered Europe via the Urals, their migration most probably caused by both drought and worsening winters.

Following radiocarbon dating, archeologists now believe the two boys were buried between 395 and 418 AD. Aged between eight and nine years old, one was of Asian origin and a Hun. The other, aged between seven and nine, was determined to be of local origin.

Researchers have further determined that the Hun boy had an unnaturally small skull, a result of the Hunnic practice of tightly bandaging the heads of children. The deceased was also buried with a gold earring, silver buckle and a knife. A clay vessel had also been placed near his knees.

In contrast, the local boy was laid on his stomach and possibly buried in a bag with his skull found between the bones of his lower leg. Researchers have concluded that it is highly possible that this boy was a servant.

Aside from conducting DNA, isotope and anthropological analyses, researchers also performed a computer reconstruction of the faces of the two boys.

As for the animals found alongside them, these were buried to provide ‘companionship’ for ‘the final journey’. The cat was identified as being local, whilst the dog - a medium-sized quaraped - showed signs of possibly having his head severed. It is possible that these were pets.

The find was originally made by Niebylski with the oval-shaped grave pit found 0.7 meters below the ground’s surface. Curiously, though the grave was located near a settlement, it was not part of a cemetery, something that researchers have described as being “unique”.

Viewed as “the first interdisciplinary examination of a Hunnic burial site in Poland” several dozen scientists were involved in the analysis, with a large contingent of Poles joined by researchers from Sweden. The results of their work have now been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.