Scythian barrow № 4 of the «Sluiceway» group on the left bank of the Lower Dniester

Abstract

The paper publishes materials obtained during the study of Scythian barrow 4 of the Sluiceway group on the left bank of the Lower Dniester in 2016. The main burial, almost completely robbed in antiquity, was surrounded by a ring ditch with two ruptures - in the northwest and southeast. At the western extremity of the northern arch of the ditch a horses skull was found. Secondary burial of the barrow remained undisturbed. It was done in an oblong pit. Such constructions have not been fixed in the Danube-Dniester steppes so far, except for a pit of similar proportions, excavated in the barrow 5 of the same cemetery as the published complex. The analysis of the funeral rite and a few preserved inventories demonstrates that both burials belonged to ordinary members of the Scythian community. At the same time, the gold holder and bronze earring from the secondary burial have practically no analogies in the Scythian complexes of the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea Region. A nail-shaped earring from the secondary grave testifies to the cultural impulse from the population of the Middle Dniester Region (forest-steppe), reflected in the finery of the Scythians on the left bank of the Lower Dniester in the second half of the 4th century BC.