Mortuus Bellator: burial of Late Roman Period from Western Podillya

Abstract

The article introduces the objects of late Roman burial near the village of Malashivtsi on the Seret, which are in the storage of the History and Local Lore Museum. The set of materials consists of weapons and equipment of the horseman. Due to traces of ritual damage, the burial belongs to the Przeworsk culture. All things have traces of burning. The set of materials includes weapons – a long double-edged sword, which can be attributed to the cavalry swords such as «spatha» with an iron suspension and a spearhead with a wide blade. Perhaps part of the fastening of the sword was an iron two-membered buckle, analogies of which are known from the European Barbaricum. The elements of the protective equipment of the warrior include a conical umbo, as well as the handle of the shield. Interestingly, on the surface of the umbo there is a lenticular hole from the impact of a sharp object, possibly a spear. The fact that he was buried by a horseman is indicated by the findings of two spurs with massive spikes. Iron tweezers are an object of personal use, in the area of settlement of the tribes of the Przeworsk culture on the territory of Ukraine it is quite a rare find. Based on the typology and classification of objects, the burial complex can be dated to the end of phase C1a–C2 – the middle – the second half of the III century. A. C. At this chronological stage, the population of the Przeworsk culture, under pressure from the Goths, moved to the southeast, resulting in several separate military burials known in the Dnister region. In the ethnocultural context, they are evidence of certain cataclysms that occurred in a certain period of time. The problem of single burials in the area of the Przeworsk culture remains poorly understood. This encourages the localization of such sites and their proper study. Key words: Przeworsk culture, military burial, late Roman period, Western Podillya.