До інтерпретації образів на амулетах-підвісках IV ст. до н. е. з Пісочинського могильника

Abstract

The paper provides an analysis of the iconography and semantics of two ancient Egyptian amulets-pendants made of “Egyptian faience” found in the Scythian female burial No. 1 of mound No. 8 of the Pisochynsky burial ground (Kharkiv region). The burial dates to the end of the 4th century BC. Currently, these objects are stored in the basement of the M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum (inv. nos. M-2759 and M-2760). Faience amulets were suspended from earrings in the form of a ring made of gold wire. They made up a single ensemble of the headdress of the buried woman, together with a rich headdress decorated with gold plates. Amulets have different sizes and differences in style, but schematically depict the same zoomorphic creature. This is a picture of a pig. In ancient Egypt, amulets in the shape of a pig did not become widespread and are known from finds of the New Kingdom and the Late Period. In the Late Period, one of the centers of their production was the Greek settlement of Naukratis, which produced various products from “Egyptian faience” for export. They are known both in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. Despite considerable sketchiness, the amulets from the Pisochynsky burial ground can be reliably identified precisely as the image of a pig, which is proved by comparison with the amulet inv. no. AN1896-1908-EA.889, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum. The authors believe that the population of Forest-Steppe and Steppe Scythia did not know the authentic meaning of these and similar Egyptian amulets. They could be perceived as images of the Otherworld creatures, which, firstly, introduced them into the circle of priestly attributes, and secondly, gave them a meditative function in the funeral rite.