Salur Darikun

Salur Darikun is Cipritine's chief archaeological officer and the foremost expert on Aurelian-era history in the empire. Over his long career, he has published numerous scientific papers on his archaeological findings and theories, all of which have garnered high academic praise, and received countless awards for his dedication to his field of work. He playfully styles himself as "an Aureliologist", in reference to his vast knowledge of Aurelion Aurelos and the Unification War.

Salur was born in Teciphon, capital of the turian colony Parthia, in 2145 CE. As the second son of an old military family, he was expected by his parents to join ranks of the priesthood once he came of age. Salur, however, had other ideas regarding his future. After passing boot camp and becoming a fully-fledged Hierarchy citizen, he chose instead to enrol himself in the prestigious Aurelian Institute, intent on studying the history of his people.

Uresium exhumation
In 2185 CE, Salur was chosen by Primarch Fedorian to lead an archaeological team to respectfully exhume the skeletal remains of over 430 turian soldiers from a mass grave on the planet Uresium, for transportation to Palaven for a proper burial. Salur's religious upbringing had made him a prime candidate for the job; he was familiar with how to respectfully navigate the more culturally sensitive areas of the work which would need to be carried out, in order to bring these lost sons and daughters back home.

Before the excavation was scheduled to proceed, Salur released a public statement about the goals of the project. "'I understand that news our intended work here on Uresium has been divisive, and somewhat distressing. I want to be absolutely clear: my team and I are not grave robbers. We are a group of academic experts who have been tasked with the recovery of approximitely 430 bodies, on the orders of Primarch Fedorian himself. For two millennia these brave soldiers of the empire have been denied a proper burial, condemed to obscurity in an unmarked mass grave. Our work will ensure that these lost sons and daughters of the Turian Hierarchy are returned home and recognised for their supreme sacrifice. This I swear to you.'"Salur's handling of the situation earned him high praise from the public and promotion from the hierarchy. Following the successful exhumation, identification, and reinterment of the bodies, Salur was now the foremost authority on archaeological matters in the empire.

Aurelian exhumation
During the Reaper War, Aurelion's sarcophagus experienced substantial damage from falling masonry. One particularly large chunk of stonework managed to crack the sarcophagus' 20-tonne lid completely in two. Fearing greater internal damage and the potential destruction of Aurelion's body, Primarch Adrien Victus established an emergency team of veteran archaeologists and engineers to ensure the integrity of Aurelion's remains. This team was lead by Salur Darikun.

Miraculously, Aurelion's remains sustained no damage from the destruction of his sarcophagus' lid. Darikun gave a written account of Aurelion's body which was publicised soon after reconstruction of the Cipritine Necropolis:"'The original lid of the sarcophagus was successfully repaired using a mortar mix containing silica-rich volcanic sand and high-density mass effect fields. It was promptly returned to the tomb, which was then resealed. As Aurelion's tomb had been sealed since the time of his burial, great care was taken to painstakingly document the contents of his sarcophagus.'"Darikun's written accounts go into great detail, to compensate for the cultural taboo against photographing/filming the dead. He drew sketches of several grave goods in his field journal, including Aurelion's kyrix, mexta and death mask. His sketches were then used with permission by the University of Cipritine to create highly detailed replicas. These replicas are now housed in the Aurelian Wing of Cipritine's Imperial Museum.