Late Sarmatian Army Burials of the Berezovsky Barrow Burial Ground in the Middle Don

Abstract

Introduction. The relevant objective of the research of the Sarmatians in the Don forest-steppe zone is the study of the Late Sarmatian period. It is aggravated both by the lack of the available material and by the absence of Late Sarmatian period burial grounds up until recent years. The excavations of Late Sarmatian grave mounds near Berezovka village in the left bank area of the Middle Don provide the opportunity to challenge the lack of knowledge concerning this period of the Sarmatian history. Methods. The method of analogy dating, the typological and anthropological methods were applied while working on the burial samples of the Late Sarmatian culture found in Berezovka proximity. Analysis. The analyzed objects are two Late Sarmatian burials hidden under the separate grave mounds in the riverside graves. One of them belongs to a 18–20-year-old woman, the other one is associated with a 25–30-year-old man. The burial materials can be dated back to the middle or the second half of the 2nd century AD. Results. The assigning of the considered burials to the Late Sarmatian culture of the middle or the second half of the 2nd century AD sets up possible connection between these grave mounds and the graves preceding the Hunnic invasion (grave mounds 8 and 9 in Berezovka burial sites). The chronological time interval between them is approximately 150 years. Allegedly, the study of the new grave mounds can replenish the chronological void.