Sculpture from Eleutherna

In 1942, following readjustment works of the road connecting the Saveni and Avrameni communes, a barrow was destroyed, resulting the find of a bronze cauldron. A. Nițu deemed the vessel of Avrameni as part of the series of cauldrons coinciding with the civilisation and expansion of the Sarmatians by the Don and Lower and Mid Danube in the 1st – 4th century AD and dated it to this chronological span. Gh. Bichir argued that the Avrameni cauldron is somewhat later than that of Piatra Șoimului (Calu), which the scholar dated to the 1st century BC. The vessel’s shape resembles that of a “bell” cast together with its handles, while the biconical foot was made separately, the two parts being attached by a bronze cast-made plug. On the body, the vessel displays several repair traces. According to its features and specificities, the Avrameni cauldron belongs to type Demidenko II.1.B, being the single of the type in the area between the Don and the Carpathians. The remaining resembling specimens come from 2nd – 1st century BC complexes from territories left of the Lower Don and the Kuban region. The author believes that according to its shape, the curved vertical handles decorated each with a knob as well as its making manner and foot attachment, the Avrameni vessel is an artefact joining elements specific to the Sauromatian cauldrons used in the Volga and Lower Don area, but also in the Kuban region also in the 2nd – 1st century BC. Within the context of its analysis are also discussed the cauldrons of Bubueci and Velikoploskoe, both from “ritual hoards/deposits” part of a larger group of such features of the 3rd – 1st century BC from territories comprised between the Volga – the pre-mountain area from North Caucasus in the east and the Lower Danube - Prut to the west. The cauldron of Bubueci belongs to type Demidenko I.3.A. It has a body cast together with the handles, while the iconical foot, surviving fragmentarily, was cast separately. Similarly to the Avrameni vessel, that of Bubueci is the most western find of a cauldron of the type. The body shape, curved vertical handles decorated each with three knobs, the lip shape and its making manner, how the handles start from the cauldron rim as well as how they were made, indicate that the vessel combines elements specific to the Sauromatian and early Sarmatian cauldrons. In the case of the Avrameni and Bubueci cauldrons, as well as those similar, the author concludes they are either a continuation of ancient casting traditions or were produced sometime earlier, yet continued to be used for a good period of time after their production cease. The exhibited repair traces and presence far from their territories of origin, where they were made and used, as well as their find together with 2nd – 1st century BC artefacts confirm, according to the author, their use for a longer time span. In the case of the Avrameni vessel, its deposition might have occurred sometime during the 2nd century BC as well as between the end of the 2nd – first decades of the 1st century BC. With respect to the dating of the “ritual hoard/deposit” of Bubueci, the author believes it dates no earlier than the 2nd century BC, and that its framing sometime between mid 2nd century BC and early 1st century BC is very likely. In the case of the Velikoploskoe cauldron, its body shape and sizes resemble those of the Demidenko VI type cauldrons emerging in the 2nd century BC, yet the remaining elements specific to this vessel type are missing. The rudimentary attachment procedure of the foot to the body, rim shape, its making manner, as well as how the handles start from the vessel rim, are according to the author, specific to the Sauromatae and early Sarmatian cauldrons (types Demidenko I-III, V) used in the first centuries BC, which hinders its ascribing to a certain type. Therefore, it was concluded that the Velikoploskoe vessel seems to be intermediary between the 5th - 3rd century BC cauldrons, mainly Sauromatae, and those of the early and mid armatian periods between the 2nd century BC and mid 2nd century AD. Its elements and making manner allow, according to the author, for its dating to the 2nd – 1st century BC, likely only sometime during the 2nd century BC, which is not contradicted by the remaining artefacts in the find.

Ships and boats form the foundations of the maritime connectivity that is a central part of our understanding of the ancient Mediterranean. While the general chronological sequence of sail and sailing-rig development is well established, the implications are less-well discussed. This article sets out how sails and sailing rigs developed in antiquity, with emphasis on the Greco-Roman world. Subsequently, instances of innovation are defined. Why specific pieces of maritime technology were, or were not, widely adopted is considered. Long-term technological continuity can be comprehended, and a shared maritime culture of sailing in the ancient Mediterranean is suggested.

A new season of studies on the Etruscan-Roman city of Musarna have allowed us to establish that the city was occupied from the end of the 4th century BC up to the beginning of the 7th century AD, and that its foundation depended on a strategic and economic need of the Etruscan metropolis of Tarquinia, of which Musarna maintained its role of colony up approximately to 280 BC, when the entire territory was conquered by Rome. Later, the inscriptions and the epitaphs found in the site and in the nearby necropolis show that until the 1st century BC the only language spoken in Musarna was Etruscan, and that at least throughout the Hellenistic period, the administrative organization remained based on the model of a large Etruscan city. Therefore, the infrastructural networks, only partially restored later on, are fully Etruscan, as are the entire defense system and some public buildings, including a market and a portico built during various stages of the renovation of the square between the 3rd and 2nd century BC, as well as sacred buildings, such as two temples probably dedicated to Hercules and Bacchus. The excellent quality of the documentation of the urban plan made it possible to undertake a study aimed at determining the city’s spatial tracking practice. Some important considerations and insights on the organization of the territory have already emerged from this study and, in particular, we were able to verify on a territorial basis the size of the design module which had already identified on an urban scale. While this may already be considered an important result, the evidence of a design set on particular geometric properties prompts the investigation to highlight particular aspects of the Etruscan plan.

Ostia, the ancient port of Rome at the mouth of the river Tiber (Italy), flourished until the 2nd Century ad, although massive siltation had already caused the abandonment of its lagoonal harbour in the 1st Century bc. In search of an alternative harbour site, geomorphological and geoarchaeological research was carried out in the ‘Fiume Morto’, an abandoned Tiber meander to the immediate north of the town. To reconstruct its complex development and evaluate the suitability of the river channel as a fluvial harbour, a transect perpendicular to the former river channel's flow axis was systematically explored by a new methodological approach combining electrical resistivity tomography, direct push‐electrical conductivity sensing and vibracores. Together with microfossil, mineralogical and geochemical analyses of sediment samples and 50 radiocarbon dates, in‐depth stratigraphic data support a detailed reconstruction of different Tiber channel generations. Results reveal a meander development closely related to distinct ‘cut and fill’ dynamics. Inactive river channels were repeatedly filled with lagoonal sediments, abruptly followed by phases of intense incision. Yet, the overall Fiume Morto channel structure remained stable and almost in situ over centuries, showing nearly no lateral changes since the southward shift of the Tiber River mouth in the first millennium bc. In the 1st Century bc, channel conditions favoured navigation and transportation of goods with large ships. Open‐water conditions, suitable for anchoring and landing activities, dominate from the 1st Century ad until 1557 ad, when the Fiume Morto meander was finally cut off and silted up within a short time. Within the fluvial deposits, sediments most likely related to tsunami inundations are preserved. These events occurred sometime before the 2nd Century bc, in the early 1st Century ad and in the 17th Century ad or later. Results are consistent with traces of tsunami influence found in Ostia's western lagoonal harbour.

Публикуются материалы изучения уздечных блях из памятников Алтая хуннуско-сяньбийско- жужанского времени (II в. до н.э. — V в. н.э.). Анализируемая коллекция насчитывает 357 экземпляров от 13 уздечных наборов из могильни- ков Берель, Булан-Кобы-IV, Верх-Уймон, Кок-Паш, Степушка-I, Сары-Бел, Яломан-II. В ходе классификации выделены 16 типов. Типологический анализ позволил определить датировку и генезис данных изделий. Ранние модификации (I в. до н.э. — начало I в. н.э.) представлены типами 3, 5, 11. Данные предметы разрабатывались на основе образцов от конского снаряжения хунну. Новый этап развития уздечных блях у населения булан-кобинской культуры приходится на 2‑ю половину IV–V в. н.э. и также отражает влияние центральноазиатской моды при формировании ременных гарнитур. Данные новации демонстрируют типы 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 12, 15. Бляхи типов 8–10 и 13 могли быть заимствованы из конструкции местных наборных поясов II–IV вв. н.э. Результаты исследования не позволяют говорить о единой линии эволюции уздечных блях на протяжении II в. до н.э. — V в. н.э.DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2016)2-40

The form and stylistic details of some vessels discovered in Brad and Răcătău settlements dated in 1st century BC – 1st century AD, known in Romanian archaeological literature as ritual vessels with zoomorphic protomes or parallelepipedic vessels with zoomorphic protomes, have none analogies in the indigenous repertory of vessels. The Hellenistic plastic vessels or, more specific, ram-shaped Knidian reliefs have been identified as source of inspiration. Another vessel discovered in Răcătău, known as the ritual barrel-shaped vessel or the rider-shaped vessel, is also suspected to have Hellenistic models as source of inspiration. The research of Hellenistic and Roman pottery that circulated north of the Danube during the period between the 2nd century BC and the beginning of the 2nd century AD allows me to make certain observations on the presence of oinophora on Geto-Dacian sites and on their possible impact on local production.

Históricamente la llanura de la Selva (Girona) ha jugado un rol importante para comunicar las poblaciones humanas del noreste peninsular. Prueba de ello fue el paso de la Via Heraclea y el Camino Real de Madrid a Francia entre otros muchos caminos y las vías que actualmente comunican el llano. Aún así, hasta hace 30 años, el número de yacimientos que se conocía era escaso y no reflejaba un poblamiento muy denso en la Antigüedad. No fue hasta mediados de los años 90, cuando la construcción de carreteras y otras infraestructuras sacó a la luz distintos yacimientos de todos los periodos, buena parte de ellos silos, que cambiaron la percepción que se tenía de la llanura de la Selva. Sin embargo, a nuestro parecer esta zona geográfica puede albergar muchos más yacimientos de los que se conocen. Es por este motivo que hemos ideado una metodología basada en la fotografía aérea satelital, con el programa Google Earth, para poder detectar el mayor numero de yacimientos de forma rápida y efectiva, en su mayoría silos u fosas, seguido por una prospección superficial no agresiva del lugar. Por un lado, con este sistema hemos hallado 9 yacimientos del siglo II aC sin más precisiones, probablemente silos, situados al noroeste de Girona. No obstante, aún quedan muchas marcas que siguen sin ser comprobadas. Por último, determinaremos la dispersión del poblamiento rural entre los siglos II y I aC.

Introduction. The problem of selecting monuments of the 3rd century BC in the Early Sarmatian culture came into sight during the process of discussing the reasons for the fall of Scythia, when it became clear that the Early Sarmatian funerary monuments in the Northern Black Sea steppes are recorded starting from the 2nd century BC, a hundred years after the alleged destruction. Methods and materials. During the research process the scientists came to the conclusion that there are no imports of the 3rd century BC in the burials of the Lower Volga region and the Southern Urals. Some researchers stated the absence of monuments of this time in the indicated territories, while others continued to search for new approaches. As a result, they proposed the the method of “clamped” dating, which allows us to distinguish a stratum between well-dated complexes of the 4th and 2nd – 1st centuries BC. Analysis. In the course of clarifying the situation in the original Sarmatian territories, some researchers have decided to devide the reference early Sarmatian burial ground Prokhorovka into two groups, not only chronologically, but also culturally. The 3rd century BC became a time separating these groups, elusive according to these authors, not only in the Northern Black Sea region, but also in the Volga-Ural steppes. Opposing this point of view, supporters of the culture of continuous development in the 4th – 1st centuries BC pay attention to the unity of the funeral rite throughout the entire period, and the lack of well-dated imports is explained by crisis phenomena and migration processes, when old contacts with civilizations are crashing and new ones have not yet been established. The discussion that unfolded in the 90s of the 20th century with the accumulation of new materials and clarification of old dates periodically revived, updated with new participants, but the position of opponents has not really changed. The proposed article is devoted to evaluating the arguments of both sides. Results. The method of “clamped” dating is not the most universal, considering the constantly growing database of sources and its corrections. But this method works and many scientists continue to rely on it. A simple statement of the impossibility of identifying monuments of the 3rd century BC, when the existence of the monuments of this time is asserted, seems even more surprising than the assertion of the “hiatus” of the 3rd century BC, in the Volga-Ural steppes region.

The article dwells on the finds in the burial of the Sarmatian skeptuchos of the 1st century BC near Kosika on the Lower Volga of the gold settings, decorated using the cloisonné technique and with inlays of emeralds and glass of different colors. Three of them with inlays in the cloisonné technique, which find parallels among jewelry from the Artyukhov Burial-mound and Asia Minor, are probably dating back to the 2nd century BC, and could originally decorate various objects. 18 other settings are characterized by the absence of loops on the rear or holes for stringing, which excludes their use as elements of necklaces or diadems. These settings find analogies among the finds from the tomb in the Burial-mound A in Karalar in Central Anatolia, in which the Galatian king Sinorix, the father of Deiotaros I (ca. 120–41/40 BC) and the grandfather of Deiotaros II the Younger (Philopator), died in the battle under Philippi in 42 BC, was possibly buried. Like by the settings from Karalar, a significant number of settings from Kosika are decorated with green inlays of emerald and beryl, which were widely used in jewelry of the Late Hellenistic and Early Imperial periods. Along with other unique items from the burial on the Lower Volga, gold settings with inlays, most likely used in the interior decoration of the grave or in the decoration of the bone handle of the ceremonial dagger, emphasize the belonging of the burial to the highest rank of the Sarmatian elite.

In spite of an array of effective antibiotics, tuberculosis is still very common in developing countries where overcrowding, malnutrition and poor hygienic conditions prevail. Over the past 30 years associated HIV infection has worsened the situation by increasing the infection rate and mortality of tuberculosis. Of those diseases caused by a single organism only HIV causes more deaths internationally than tuberculosis. The tubercle bacillus probably first infected man in Neolithic times, and then via infected cattle, but the causative Mycobacteriacea have been in existence for 300 million years. Droplet infection is the most common way of acquiring tuberculosis, although ingestion (e.g. of infected cows’ milk) may occur. Tuberculosis probably originated in Africa. The earliest path gnomonic evidence of human tuberculosis in man was found in osteo-archaeological findings of bone tuberculosis (Pott’s disease of the spine) in the skeleton of anEgyptian priest from the 21st Dynasty (approximately 1 000 BC). Suggestive but not conclusiveevidence of tuberculotic lesions had been found in even earlier skeletons from Egypt and Europe. Medical hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt are silent on the disease, which could be tuberculosis,as do early Indian and Chinese writings. The Old Testament refers to the disease schachapeth, translated as phthisis in the Greek Septuagint. Although the Bible is not specific about this condition, tuberculosis is still called schachapeth in modern Hebrew. In pre-Hippocratic Greece Homer did not mention phthisis, a word meaning non-specific wasting of the body. However. Alexander of Tralles (6th century BC) seemed to narrow the concept down to a specific disease, and in the Hippocratic Corpus (5th-4th centuries BC) phthisis can be recognised as tuberculosis. It was predominantly a respiratory disease commonly seen and considered to be caused by an imbalance of bodily humours. It was commonest in autumn, winter and spring, tended to affect groups of people living close together, and young people in particular. Pregnancy exacerbated phthisis which was characterised by a chronic cough (worse at night), prominent sputum, often blood streaked and presumably arising from necrotic lung tissue. The face was typically flushed with sunken cheeks, sharp nose and very bright eyes. There was atrophy of all muscles with prominent (“winged”) shoulder blades, fever and perspiration often associated with shivering. Symptoms were described which would fit in with complicating lung abscess and empyema. Hippocrates also mentions disease entities which would fit in with extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, like Pott’s disease of the spine and cervical lymphadenopathy (scrofula), although he did not associate this with phthisis. Minimal specific therapy was prescribed. Subsequent writers in the Hellenistic and Roman eras added little to the classic Hippocratic clinical picture of phthisis, but Celsus (1st century AD) and Galen (2nd century) first suggested that it was a contagious condition. From Themison (1st century BC) onwards, therapeutic regimes became more drastic with the addition of inter alia strict dietary regimes, purges, enemas and venesection. Celsus suggested long sea voyages with ample relaxation and a change of climate. Aretaeus (1st century AD) stressed the importance of not exacerbating the suffering of people with chronic disease by imposing aggressive therapy. Except for the introduction of more drastic therapy the concept of phthisis (tuberculosis) had thus not progressed materially in the course of the millennium between Hippocrates and the end of the Roman era – and it would indeed remain virtually static for the next 1 000 years up to the Renaissance. There is, however, some evidence that the incidence of tuberculosis decreased during the major migration of nations which characterised the late Roman Empire.

The literature on ancient art that appeared in the 6th century BC alongside the first art treatises, and later expanded its scope and diversity, has been almost completely lost. Only three works have been fully preserved, and even these only from the Roman period: Vitruvius’ treatise De Architectura, Pliny the Elder’s encyclopedia Naturalis Historia, which includes an excursus on ancient art in individual chapters, and Pausanias’ Description of Greece intended for Roman educated travelers. In addition to these three works, two other types of texts are classified as literary sources of art history: the essays that belong to the genre of ekphrasis (rhetorically perfected descriptions of artistic objects, real or imaginary), and the corpus of excerpts by selected authors of Antiquity that generally wrote about other themes, but in places also talked about ancient art. When Pliny the Elder composed his chapters on ancient art forms he used original works of art or Greek and Roman art history literature. When he was writing the Naturalis Historia he used information from numerous authors that he cited in the first book and also some parts of the text. The Roman encyclopedist drew his knowledge of technical aspects of art primarily from Greek treatises published between the 6th and 4th centuries BC by numerous artists; among them, the sculptor Polykleitus of Argos and the painter Pamphilus of Amphipolis are worthy of mention. Art history literature that coincides at least in part with the modern concept of art history had its beginnings in the early Hellenistic period. Pliny based his work on three authors from this period: Duris of Samos, Xenocrates of Athens, and Antigonus of Carystus. Duris of Samos (close of the 4th century BC) designed his two works – which have the generic titles On Painters and On Sculptors – as a series of biographies, in which he highlighted the apex of every artist’s life, coinciding with the creation of his most important work. In his essays, Xenocrates of Athens (second quarter of the 3rd century BC) presented the history of ancient art as a continuous evolutionary line in which great artists played the role of the first inventors. Thus art followed the development towards naturalism; that is, perfection personified, in Xenocrates’ opinion, by Lysippos among the sculptors, and Apelles among the painters. Antigonus of Carystus (last quarter of the 3rd century BC) enriched the work of his two predecessors with his own epigraphic studies. In the middle and late Hellenistic period, Xenocrates’ developmental view of the world was a generally accepted idea. Individual authors differed only by the period in which they placed the apex of development. The most influential among them, Appolodorus of Athens (2nd century BC), put the Athenian artists of the Age of Pericles to the forefront; especially Phidias. Appolodorus’ nostalgic and retrospective vision (in contrast to Xenocrates, who recognized the masters of Sicyon school, to which he also belonged, to be the pinnacle of art history development) coincided with the renewal of Attic art around 150 BC, known also as the Classicism of Athens or neoAtticism. In the late Hellenistic period, various compendiums were popular (mainly periegeses and lists of artists), among which Pasiteles’ (first half of the 1st century BC) essay entitled Mirabilia is the most interesting. Although Pliny the Elder based his history of ancient art on all the authors mentioned above, the writings of classical philologists and archeologists often imply that he might not have always used the art history literature mentioned as primary sources, but rather cited a great deal of information from the works of his predecessor, the famous Roman encyclopedist Marcus Terentius Varro (beginning of the 1st century BC).

The literature on ancient art that appeared in the 6th century BC alongside the first art treatises, and later expanded its scope and diversity, has been almost completely lost. Only three works have been fully preserved, and even these only from the Roman period: Vitruvius’ treatise De Architectura, Pliny the Elder’s encyclopedia Naturalis Historia, which includes an excursus on ancient art in individual chapters, and Pausanias’ Description of Greece intended for Roman educated travelers. In addition to these three works, two other types of texts are classified as literary sources of art history: the essays that belong to the genre of ekphrasis (rhetorically perfected descriptions of artistic objects, real or imaginary), and the corpus of excerpts by selected authors of Antiquity that generally wrote about other themes, but in places also talked about ancient art. When Pliny the Elder composed his chapters on ancient art forms he used original works of art or Greek and Roman art history literature. When he was writing the Naturalis Historia he used information from numerous authors that he cited in the first book and also some parts of the text. The Roman encyclopedist drew his knowledge of technical aspects of art primarily from Greek treatises published between the 6th and 4th centuries BC by numerous artists; among them, the sculptor Polykleitus of Argos and the painter Pamphilus of Amphipolis are worthy of mention. Art history literature that coincides at least in part with the modern concept of art history had its beginnings in the early Hellenistic period. Pliny based his work on three authors from this period: Duris of Samos, Xenocrates of Athens, and Antigonus of Carystus. Duris of Samos (close of the 4th century BC) designed his two works – which have the generic titles On Painters and On Sculptors – as a series of biographies, in which he highlighted the apex of every artist’s life, coinciding with the creation of his most important work. In his essays, Xenocrates of Athens (second quarter of the 3rd century BC) presented the history of ancient art as a continuous evolutionary line in which great artists played the role of the first inventors. Thus art followed the development towards naturalism; that is, perfection personified, in Xenocrates’ opinion, by Lysippos among the sculptors, and Apelles among the painters. Antigonus of Carystus (last quarter of the 3rd century BC) enriched the work of his two predecessors with his own epigraphic studies. In the middle and late Hellenistic period, Xenocrates’ developmental view of the world was a generally accepted idea. Individual authors differed only by the period in which they placed the apex of development. The most influential among them, Appolodorus of Athens (2nd century BC), put the Athenian artists of the Age of Pericles to the forefront; especially Phidias. Appolodorus’ nostalgic and retrospective vision (in contrast to Xenocrates, who recognized the masters of Sicyon school, to which he also belonged, to be the pinnacle of art history development) coincided with the renewal of Attic art around 150 BC, known also as the Classicism of Athens or neoAtticism. In the late Hellenistic period, various compendiums were popular (mainly periegeses and lists of artists), among which Pasiteles’ (first half of the 1st century BC) essay entitled Mirabilia is the most interesting. Although Pliny the Elder based his history of ancient art on all the authors mentioned above, the writings of classical philologists and archeologists often imply that he might not have always used the art history literature mentioned as primary sources, but rather cited a great deal of information from the works of his predecessor, the famous Roman encyclopedist Marcus Terentius Varro (beginning of the 1st century BC).

The article is devoted to the semantic and chronological analysis of the images on the plate of white tuff discovered in the city of Stavropol. The central part of the relief is occupied with the image of table - an altar with hoisted bull head (in the background) and the hanging part of bull skin (in the foreground). Between the protruding edges of the hanging skin and lower to the ground (between the legs of the altar) an ancient Greek phrase carved in three lines. The composition is completed by flanking images of two figures in long robes depicted in profile, symmetrically turned to the head of the bull. The figure at the right is an image of a man with a long beard, the lower edge of which is bent forward (priest or king). The figure at the left is a female (queen). Both the man and the woman are holding ritual vessels in hands. The plot of bull sacrifice is typical for the cultural traditions of ancient Greece as well as for ancient eastern states. The fact of combining images and inscriptions peculiar of the Hellenistic culture and ancient Iranian mythology on the Stavropol altar should be associated with the religious policy pursued by the Pontic kings since the second half of the 3rd century BC till the Common Era. This policy was focused on the gradual replacement of local cults by Greek ones in the official pantheon. The reasons for the Asia Minor altar existence in the Stavropol Upland include: 1) the military expeditions of the Sarmatians to Asia Minor in 2nd - 1st centuries BC; 2) the establishment of political and economic ties by the North Caucasus population with the state of Seleucids in the 2nd century BC, with Parthia in the 2nd - 1st centuries BC, and especially with the kingdom of Pontus in the 1st century BC.

There are different points of view regarding the date of the appearance of the early Sarmatian archaeological culture of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC within the Lower Don region. However, most researches have been of the view that the Lower Don region and the Northeastern Black Sea region were developed by the Sarmatians relatively late, namely not earlier than the second half of the 2nd century BC. The main objective of this study is to define the date of the first appearance of the Sarmatians on the territory of the Don region based on the analysis of the archaeological data from Sarmatian and ancient archeology, as well as information from the literary and epigraphic sources. According to the scale of the relative chronology there is plenty of early monuments in the Sarmatian antiquities within the 2nd century BC. However, the number of chronological indicators in Sarmatian burials of this time horizon is relatively low. On the basis of the Rhodian amphora with stamps, black-glazed cantharoi and Megarian bowls, the date of the earliest complexes can be set within the second or third quarters of the 2nd century BC. The arrival of the Sarmatians had a general destabilizing effect on the situation in the Don region and the Northeastern Black Sea region. The destruction of settlements and the devastation of territories were recorded on the Bosporus. The city of Tanais in the Lower Don region was fortified in the second quarter of the 2nd century BC. The first reliable mentions of the Sarmatians in official documents are dated to the end of the first – the beginning of the second quarter of the 2nd century BC (the treaty is dated 179 BC, Delphic manumissions). Further the authors conclude that the first appearance of the Sarmatians in the Lower Don region and the Northeastern Black Sea region is associated with the movement of nomadic tribes as a result of the expansion of the Xiongnu state, formed at the end of the 3rd century BC, which reached the Russian southern steppes as a result of domino effect.

The study deals with the question of determining time of the first appearance of the Sarmatians in the Crimean Steppe. Discrepancy between scientific interpretations of ancient written sources and dating by archaeological researches can be observed: while the former admit that the Sarmatians inhabited the Crimean peninsula in 3rd – 2nd centuries BC, the later assume the origin time to be the late 1st century BC. The monument considered in the article is burial 80 of kurgan Ungut-1 which partially helps to overcome this discrepancy. The studied monument is a single burial of a male positioned on his back with his head oriented to the north accompanied by a moulded pot, a fibula, a knife and a bead. These grave goods and, the first of all, fibula date back the burial to the early 1st century BC, and allow this Sarmatian complex to be considered the earliest precisely dated one in the Crimea. This fact indicates the presence of the nomads on the peninsula during the reign of Mithradates VI Eupator. At the same time, the examined monument does not mitigate completely discrepancies existing between ancient written sources and massive archaeological material regarding their timing. The only indisputable fact is that the nomads were there during the events of the Diophantine wars. However, their presence on the Crimean peninsula in earlier periods, especially in the late 4th – early 3rd centuries BC, remains disputable.