X-ray Fluorescence Mapping of the Lead Distribution on the Surface of a Bronze Vessel Lid with a Dolphin Figurine from the 1st Century BC from the Polyanka Settlement the Crimean Azov Region

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.

Introduction. In the process of developing the chronology of early Sarmatian culture we have allocated the monuments dated by the 2nd - 1st centuries BC and characterized by their specificity both in the material culture and in burial rites. Methods and materials. This article is devoted to the series of items from the Sarmatian burials of the 2nd - 1st centuries BC from the south of Eastern Europe having close analogies in the sites of Central Asia. The items are represented with different types of swords, bronze openwork belt buckles, latticed and gigantic belt buckles, clay cubic censers, miniature copies of boilers and quivers with bows. Analysis. New features have been marked in the funeral rites. Burials in the decks got popularity, which had resemblance with the decks used in the burial practice of Tuva’s population of the last centuries BC. The percentage of northern orientation of the buried was significantly increased in some areas of the Volga and the Don regions. The analysis of the historical situation testifies to the migration of a number of nomadic groups away from China’s northwestern borders due to the aggressive policy of Xiongnu. This event caused the changes in ethnopolitical situation in Central Asia, the Greco-Bactrian kingdom ceased to exist due to nomadic attacks. The nomadic population of this region with the eastern elements in their culture had significantly increased. Great changes occured in the South Ural, the Volga-Don region and in the Northern Black Sea Coast, where the groups of nomads appeared which had not been mentioned in written sources before: Aorses, Siraki, Roksolans, Satarkhi. The occurred changes found reflection in written works of ancient authors. Results. Thus, the events that took place on the northern borders of China, associated with the formation of the Hunnish nomadic empire, led to a significant change in the ethnopolitical situation up to the Northern Black Sea Coast region.

The article features the gem of rather rare forms, namely so-called prisms, polyhedra, scaraboids and bifacial gems which were found in the burials of the Asian Sarmatia nomads. The author describes an attempt to attribute seals in the form of polyhedra from Sarmatian burials dated back to the 1st – first half of the 2nd century AD within the Lower and Upper Don and the Lower Volga regions. Polyhedra belong to the forms of gems, which became widespread in the Classical era, both among Greek and so-called Greek-Persian gems. In the 2nd – 1st centuries BC the seals in the form of polyhedra were widely distributed across the Caucasus and, especially, in Transcaucasia region. According to the finds, they are represented by numerous items made of carved stone, as well as of dark blue glass, milky white and greenish color. Moreover, there are also known rectangular forms of prints of such seals on the bulls, in particular which were excavated from the palace at Dedoplis Gora in Caucasian Iberia, dated to the 1st century BC – 1st century AD. The analysis of the shapes, materials and subjects of the images on the seals from the Sarmatian burials considered in the current article suggests that they were made in Transcaucasian workshops of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC. The probable Transcaucasian origin of the seals and their dating to the late Hellenistic period are an indirect confirmation of the hypothesis previously expressed by the author about the early cylindrical, conical seals and scaraboids of the mid-2nd – mid-1st millennium BC found in Sarmatian burials of the 1st century BC – 2nd century AD, originating from the sanctuaries of Transcaucasia.

The article focuses on the chronological analysis of the Maeotian burials, which contained ring-topped swords. Nowadays, there is a wide range of dating of this type of weapon starting from the 1st century BC until the 2nd century AD. Recently, as a result of new excavations, the collection of swords of this type extracted from the Maeotian sites on the right bank of the Kuban river has increased significantly, and it has become possible to clarify their chronology in the region. There were found two types of swords and daggers with a ring pommel (62 pieces): I – with a straight barshaped cross-guards; II – no cross-guards. There are also 2 types of blade shape. Swords with a bar-shaped (45 pieces) prevail quantitatively as a result of those excavations. Swords of this type were discovered only in the necropolis of the Spornoye settlement. On the contrary, there was only a single dagger of type II among 11 swords found at the Elizavetinskaya cemetery No. 2. Most of the well-dated assemblages come from the cemeries of the Spornoye, Starokorsunskaya No. 2 and Elizavetinskaya No. 2 settlements. Only two swords are classified as the earliest pieces, which can be referred to the first half of the 1st century BC, according to the accompanying inventory. Another 8 assemblages are dated around the 1st century BC. It is typical of burials containing swords of the 1st century AD to show the presence of fibulae (“Aucissa” type, enamel-less hinged type, etc.), glass cast skyphos and other dating objects, which help to specify the chronology of the assemblages in many cases. Five burials belong to the first half of the 1st century AD, other 11 burials are dated back to the second half of the 1st century AD. The chronology of the rest assemblages is questionable, but only a few burials can be dated to the beginning – the first half of the 2nd сentury AD. The swords with ring pommel of the Maeotians from the right Kuban bank prevail in the period from the 1st century BC – the beginning of the 2nd century AD. The latter, most probably indicates that this type of swords with s straight cross-guard was borrowed from the Sarmatians.

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.

Bucket-shaped pendants were widely spread in various cultural environments from the Roman imperial period, in the area comprised between the north of the Black Sea and Central Europe. This study, without aiming to be exhaustive, attempts to examine pieces of the type found in the Sarmatian environment of the Great Hungarian Plain starting from the iron bucket-shaped pendants discovered in graves 9 and 13 from the cemetery at Hunedoara Timișană, Șagu commune, Arad county.Grave 9 from Hunedoara Timișană, correlated with the remaining grave goods, dates sometime to the chronological time frame comprised between the end of the 2nd century AD and first half of the 3rd century AD, while grave 13, dates sometime to the time span between the end of the 2nd century AD and the third quarter of the 3rd century AD.The author examines the pendants from Hunedoara Timișană beside the other found in the burial features of the Great Hungarian Plain, but also in other cultural environments, in a broader context and notes that in the Sarmatian environment of the Great Hungarian Plain bucket-shaped pendants come mainly from female and infant graves, being found in both richly and poorly furnished graves.Subsequent to the examination of bucket-shaped pendant finds in the Sarmatian environment of the Great Hungarian Plain, it was noted that although they cover the entire geographical area, one may not speak of an intensive use by the Sarmatians, like the case of other pendant types. Also, it was noted that these pendants were used by the Sarmatians from the Great Hungarian Plain, to a larger or smaller extent, over the entire duration of the chronological interval comprised between the end of the 1st century AD and the end of the 4th – early 5th century AD.Last but not least, the author observes that earliest specimens come from the north-Pontic area and originate in features dating to the 2nd – 1st century BC, which suggests that these pendants originated, beside other types of pendants, in the north-Pontic region. In the 1st century BC, such pendants were present with the late Scythians and the Sarmatians from the north and north-west of the Black Sea, but also in the Geto-Dacian and Germanic environments (Poieneşti-Lucășeuca culture). Once with the 1st century AD, bucket-shaped pendants are present in several cultural milieus, the Sarmatian from the Great Hungarian Plain included, where the custom of wearing these pendants was brought in the second half of the 1st century AD by the first groups of Sarmatians that settled the region.In the end, it is concluded that the massive use of the bucket-shaped pendants over the 2nd – 4th century AD in various cultural environments from the area comprised between the north of the Black Sea and Central Europe evidences they became “supranational” artefacts, being produced and used by various populations from this geographical area.

Bucket-shaped pendants were broadly diffused in various cultural environments from the area comprised between the north-east of the Black Sea and Central Europe. This study attempts, without aiming at being exhaustive, to analyse the objects of this type within the Sarmatian environment. The author examines these pendants from the Sarmatian environment compared to that of other cultural settings, within a broader context and concludes that in the Sarmatian environment, bucket-shaped pendants come mainly from either richly and poorly furnished children and women graves. The author notes that earliest specimens of such pendants are found in the north-Pontic area and originate in features that date to the 2nd – 1st century BC, which suggests that their origin, beside other pendant types, lies in the north-Pontic region. In the 1st century BC, these pendants are present with the late Scythians and the Sarmatians from the north and north-west of the Black Sea, but also in the Geto-Dacian and Germanic milieu (the Poieneşti-Lucășeuca culture). Once with the 1st century AD, the number of the bucket-shaped pendants increases significantly in the late Scythian, Sarmatian, Geto-Dacian environments but also in the cemeteries of the towns and settlements from the north-Pontic area. Still in this period, they start to be recorded in the Przeworsk culture area, as well. Subsequent to the analysis of bucket-shaped pendant finds from the Sarmatian environment, it was concluded they were not extensively used by the Sarmatians, like in the case of other pendant types. The author notes that the majority of bucket-shaped pendants from the Sarmatian environment of the north and north-west Pontic area come from graves dating to the chronological interval comprised between mid 1st century AD – early/first decades of the 2nd century AD. Furthermore, these artefacts are rare in second half of the 2nd century – first half of the 3rd century AD Sarmatian graves and are missing from the second stage of the late Sarmatian period (the second half of the 3rd century – 4th century AD). Following the analysis of the Sarmatian funerary features of the Great Hungarian Plain in which bucket-shaped pendants were discovered, it is concluded that the custom of wearing such pendants by women and children was carried to this area in the second half of the 1st century AD by the first groups of Sarmatians that settled the region. Last but not least, it was noted that in the Sarmatian environment of this geographical area these artefacts were used, to a more or less extent, on the entire duration of their inhabitancy of this area. In the end it is concluded that the massive use of bucket-shaped pendants in the 2nd – 4th century AD in various cultural environments of the area comprised between the north of the Black Sea and Central Europe evidences they became “supranational” artefacts, being produced and used by different populations from this geographical area

This paper investigates the imports of Aegean wines to the city of Rome between the Late Republican and the Middle Imperial period (1st century BC – 3rd century AD). Its main aim is to show the share of the Roman wine market that was supplied by the Aegean region, as well as investigating which areas of the Aegean were the main wine exporters.

Introduction. The article is devoted to characterizing the decorative features of the fibulabrooch discovered during the study of the mound in the northern surrounding areas of Cherkessk (territory of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia) and stored in the collection of the Stavropol State Museum. The aim of the publication is to introduce the poorly known scientific material into scientific use. A full set of illustrations and accurate measurements will further avoid confusion with the description of the specific artifact (in existing publications there are no drawings; conclusions are based only on photos). Explanations relate to the history of the brooch and details of its decoration. Methods. The comparative typological method is used as a working one. It is based on the classification by material, processing method, form, ornamentation, as well as identifying and studying types of brooches with pendants. The comparative analysis of the decor of the brooch from the Stavropol museum and similar brooches with pendants found in the western part of the North Caucasus shows the variety of polychrome decoration production technologies in the region in the 3rd – 1st centuries BC: preserving the traditions of Bosporan jewelry art; distribution of the elements of Colchian toreutics. Analysis. The paper considers design features of brooches from the Stavropol museum and monuments of the Western Ciscaucasia: details of zoomorphic figurines; characteristics of caste design; wire inlay; form and features of enamel inserts; character of pendant weaving and features of the design of suspended discs. Results. In the production of hollow zoomorphic images of the 3rd – 1st century BC there were two lines of development: 1) simplified modeling of figurines modeled on the pattern of Colchian products of the 5th – 4th centuries BC (Psenafa and others); 2) continuation of the tradition of producing jewelry with enamel (brooch from the mound in the land of Rodina state farm). In the first case, the simplicity and negligence of execution evidence established local production of imitations of Colchian images. In the second case, elegance of images and refinement of execution emphasize the creation of brooches of Karachay-Cherkessia in one of the centers of Bosporus toreutics which was under the influence of Colchian jewelry.

The article examines the current state of historiography on the study of ancient numismatics in the Ukrainian lands during the 6th - 1st centuries BC, outlining its main directions, achievements, challenges, and prospects for further development. It has been established that, despite a significant increase in the number of scholarly works in recent decades, historiographical studies in this field remain limited, which underscores the need for their synthesis and reinterpretation. The diversity, methodological innovation, and thematic breadth of current research are highlighted. Four key areas are identified: the application of digital technologies and interdisciplinary approaches; the study of the coinage of the Greek colonies in the Northern Black Sea region, including analyses of technology, iconography, and cultural-political influences; the investigation of single finds and hoards in order to refine our understanding of monetary circulation; and the exploration of museum and private collections for cataloguing and systematization purposes. The scholarly novelty of the article lies in the absence of specialized historiographical works on this topic, as well as in the fact that, for the first time, the research legacy of contemporary - primarily Ukrainian - scholars has been systematized and synthesize

The article discusses the funeral complexes of the elites of the nomads from various regions of Sarmatia of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC. The main criterion for identifying burials of the nobility is a high concentration of status items – symbols of power: ceremonial weapons and horse harness, jewelry and luxury items of gold and silver, sets of imported metal and glass dishes, etc. Among the elitist complexes, burials of undoubtedly royal rank were identified: Novozavedennoe V kurgan 1, burials 7 and 30; Dyadkovsky-34 kurgan 1, burial 19; Ipatovo-3 kurgan 2, burial 14; Volzhsky burials 2, 3, and 4; Mayorovsky kurgan 4, burial 3-B; Prokhorovka kurgan 1, burial 1; and Nogaychinsky burial 18. These stand out for their luxury and the number of inventory, quite comparable to the burial complexes of the highest nobility of the Middle Sarmatian and Late Sarmatian periods. A number of burials slightly inferior in wealth, which may belong to both kings and the highest aristocracy (sceptuchi), are adjacent to this group. In addition, a large number of burials were probably left by lower-ranking aristocracy, also containing ceremonial weapons, imported dishes, prestigious and expensive jewelry, etc., but usually in small quantities, one or two items. In addition, obviously not ordinary burials of a pronounced military appearance were found, but without insight of power, objects of luxury and jewelry. The analysis shows that the society of the early Sarmatians was most likely at the stage of transition from a ranked to a stratified society. The structure of the elite part of society was clearly complex and did not come down to a two-level vertical power structure described by Strabo. A special section discusses the titles of Sarmatian rulers known from narrative sources, as well as from numismatics and epigraphic data, and provides possible parallels with the social and military structure of the Parthian society.

The article discusses the classification and chronology of mirrors of the Lower Don Early Sarmatian culture of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC. In the Early Sarmatian culture of the Lower Don region of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC, large mirrors with a roller along the edge of the disk and a wedge-shaped handle-pin (department 2) and small mirrors in the form of a flat disk without a handle (department 1, type 2) are prevailing. Large mirrors with a roller along the edge of the disk and a wedge-shaped handle-pin (44.7%) gravitate towards monuments of the early stage, most of which are located in the eastern regions of the left bank. Mirrors in the form of a small flat disk without a handle (41.5%) are already known in the complexes of the early horizon of the Lower Don Early Sarmatian culture, but they become widespread later. At the final stage of the Early Sarmatian culture and in the Middle Sarmatian time, such mirrors completely prevail over mirrors of other forms. Other varieties of mirrors are represented by a small number of copies. Many mirrors were accompanied by the remnants of cases, one mirror had a stand. Most of the mirrors are found in female burials, much less – in male ones; with child’s bones, fragments of mirrors were found only twice. Most often, the mirrors were located close to the body of the buried, most often near the skull, shoulders, chest of the buried, sometimes on the body or under it. Most of the finds are fragments of mirrors, whole specimens are relatively few (only about 20%). Large fragments could be used for their intended purpose; small fragments probably served as amulets. Many mirrors are damaged – chopped, bent, broken, have traces of shock. It is believed to be the traces of some actions of a ritual-magical nature in order to free the soul of a thing or render the harmless of the deceased. It should be noted that in the funeral rites of the early Sarmatians, not only mirrors but also other categories of equipment – swords, knives, boilers, vessels, were subjected to mass ritual damage.

The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the numismatic iconography of Hercules of the 6th – 1st centuries BC in Ancient Greece and to trace the transformation of the visualisation of the hero’s image through the prism of changing religious and philosophical concepts. Research methodology. The method of integrity and cognitive, the method of art historical and structural-functional analysis, as well as the comparative-typological method were applied. Scientific novelty. The iconography of Hercules on coins of the 6th – 1st centuries BC was examined and the transformation of the image of Hercules during the archaic, classical and Hellenistic periods in Ancient Greece was revealed; The iconography of Hercules on coins from the city of Tyre in Phoenicia (southern Lebanon) of the Hellenistic period (from 126/125 BC) was analysed and affinities with the iconography of Hercules on coins from the time of Alexander the Great were revealed. Conclusions. The iconography of Hercules (two main types: a young beardless god and a mature bearded Hercules) is focused on depicting the hero's exploits, primarily the killing of the Nemean lion (before the 5th century BC) and his apotheosis, which is associated with the widespread spread of the hero's cult in Attica. Deep, complex cultural changes in Greece in the 5th century BC contributed to the formation and popularisation of a new concept of iconographic expression. The transformation occurs in the shift of emphasis from the feat itself to the moment of rest, as well as in the change of emotional aspect – Heracles is depicted at rest, tired and depressed, his heroic prowess remains implicit, thus what is actually depicted differs from the central meaning of the image. In the context of the evolution of Greek spirituality, starting from the 6th century, Heracles begins to personify universal concepts of humanity, as well as new ideals of sovereignty. The iconographic depiction of Heracles' exhaustion and his apotheosis testifies to the influence of new religious and philosophical concepts (Pythagoreanism, Orphism and mystical cults) on the myth. Instead of the extraordinary efforts and excesses characteristic of his previous iconographic representations, the classical period presents Heracles as a model of virtue and self-control, symbolising the victory of his merits (the twelve feats) over divine persecutions and misfortunes. The famous Hellenistic iconographic type of the Tyrian Hercules (youthful appearance and stylistic features) is inspired by an image dating back to the time of Alexander the Great's coinage and corresponds to the character of Hercules the god.

The article is devoted to the publication of an iron segmented helmet found in mound 2 of the Beysuzhek 36 burial ground in the Kuban steppe region. Ciscaucasian Sarmatian burials with helmets belong to the culture of nomads of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC, identified with the Siraces of Strabo. It is obvious that the helmet from the Beysuzhek 36 burial ground is imported. It was made by a professional armourer and certainly does not belong to Greek, Celtic or Roman traditions of armour production. Middle Eastern helmets of the first millennium BC are represented by single finds. The lack of archaeological finds is partly compensated by images of similar helmets on the Bosporan tombstones, reliefs of Trajan’s column and Nile mosaic of Palestrina. The burial inventory is dated back to the late 2nd – 1st centuries BC. According to literary sources, the Sarmatians fought against the commanders of Mithridates VI Eupator, and later, as a part of the army of Mithridates, against the Romans in Asia Minor. The Sarmatians also made up a significant part of the army of the Bosporus of Cimmeria King Pharnaces II during his attempt to recapture the Pontic Kingdom. Thus, the appearance of the helmet in question in the North Caucasus region could be associated both with the participation of the Sarmatians in the Mithridatic wars, and with the events of 48–47 BC, when King Pharnaces II tried to take back the territories that had previously belonged to his father. During these wars, a Sarmatian soldier somehow received the rare Middle Eastern helmet.

Introduction. In 2007 the archaeological expedition of the State Autonomic Cultural Facility of Rostov Region “The Don Heritage” excavated burial ground Krasny IV in Aksay district of Rostov Region. In the mound of barrow No. 13 a bronze rod-shaped frontlet plate with a hook, a bronze lunula-shaped harness pendant, six bronze bridle roundels, a bone cheek-piece, and iron fragments of the, most likely, bits have been discovered. Methods and materials. In the study the standard methods of archaeological analysis are used: comparative-typological, the method of analogies, chronological, and cartographic ones. The materials are the discovered artifacts. Analysis. According to the conditions of location and composition, the assemblage from barrow No. 13 can be identified as a ritual deposit. Such assemblages are known in special literature as “hoards”, “strange assemblages” or “votive hoards”. They have been found in mounds of barrows or in natural hills without traces of human burials. Usually they consist of cauldrons or situlae (often the rest items are put into them), bridle sets with peculiar frontlet plate with a hook, silver and bronze phalerae, helmets of Western types, weapons (most often spear- and arrowheads), expensive and socially prestigious items (silver and glassware, jewelry). The presence of all these items in the ritual deposit is not necessary. These sites are concentrated in geographically opposite regions: the basins of the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut and in the east of European Sarmatia – in the AzovDonbass, Don and Kuban basins, the Lower Volga basin and North Caucasus. Results. Close parallels to the frontlet plate, bronze lunula-shaped pendant, and bridle roundels were found in the South Bug basin (Marievka), the Dniester and Prut interfluve (Brãviceni), Romania (Zimnicea), the North Caucasus (Prochnookopskaya, Geymanovsky, Giaginskaya), the Don and Volga interfluve (Kachalinskaya). All of these sites are identified as ritual deposits of the late 2nd – 1st centuries BC. The assemblage from barrow No. 13 should be dated to the same time. The ritual deposits of Eastern Europe could be divided into two chronologically different groups. The sites of the early group (3rd – early 2nd century BC) have appeared in the North Caucasus and concentrated in the North-Western Pontic region. It is assumed that they belong to the Хsaiai, Saudaratai and Thissamatai mentioned in the Olbian decree in honor of Protogenes. The sites of the late group (the late 2nd – 1st centuries BC) in the Northern Pontic Region, the Don basin, the North Caucasus and adjacent territories belong, most likely, to the Sarmatians.