Sarmatian Burials Research Articles

Roman bronze amphoras from the Sarmatian burials of Eastern Europe

In the Sarmatian burials six intact or fragmented bronze amphoras and one separate handle of Tassinari types A3212 and A3220 were found. The peculiarities of shape, details and sizes discussed. The clear majority of large vessels (mainly from 40 to 44 cm high) in Thrace and Asian Sarmatia contrasts with the finds from Pompeii or Western and Central Europe. A significant number of amphoras from Sarmatia originate from the so-called ‘princely’ burials in the Lower Don region of the second half of the 1st – early 2nd century AD. There is a correlation of the finds with the remains of the funeral feasts associated with central female burials in the mounds. The penetration of amphoras to the nomads gives reason to assume that such vessels were in some demand among them and it was not by chance that large amphoras were brought to Thrace and Sarmatia. If this is so (and I cannot find another explanation), then such large vessels could have been specially made with a view to the Thracian and Sarmatian aristocracy. Of course, this was not the only way of penetration of large bronze amphoras to the Sarmatians. There are grounds to suggest that the large bronze amphoras could be acquired by the Sarmatians also during the Bosporan–Roman war in 45–49 AD.

A High-Status Middle Sarmatian Burial from the Kovalevka Burial Complex in the Volgograd Region

The article is devoted to the archaeological materials publication from the kurgan 25 excavations of the Kovalevka burial complex. The accompanying inventory, marking a high status of the buried, was found in an individual burial made in the tradition of the Middle Sarmatian funeral rite. The bronze cauldron broken in antiquity and placed upside down was found in the cache. Cauldrons of this type existed in the first century AD. Iron bits with two-hole psalms, widespread among the nomads of the steppe zone starting from the turn of the eras and silver-plated iron plaques from the horse bridle jewelry lay nearby. The set of three phalars, which can be functionally defined as breast and shoulder plates of a horse harness, was found on the other side of the cauldron. The phalars made of forged silver sheet traces of gilding on the surface. The multi-figure compositions of animals, birds and floral ornaments were depicted on the obverse, in low relief. Such phalars in Sarmatian monuments were widespread since the turn of the era and exist within the first half of the first century AD. On both sides of the cauldron there were two gray-clay pottery jugs made in Kuban pottery centers. They became widespread in the burial grounds of the Kuban and the Lower Don starting from the turn of the eras, although they were occasionally encountered at the end of the Early Sarmatian time. Two paired long militant knives were placed along the right leg; these finds are well known in the Sarmatian burials of the turn of the first centuries AD, and are found, as a rule, in high status complexes along with horse harness, bronze cauldrons and other prestigious items. All of the above allows us to assert that the buried individual belonged to the nomadic elite, whose burials during that period were concentrated in the Volga-Don interfluve.

ТРИ САРМАТСКИХ ПОГРЕБАЛЬНЫХ КОМПЛЕКСА ИЗ СТЕПНОГО КРЫМА

The work analyzes three recently discovered burial monuments of the 1st century BC – mid (?) 1st century AD in the Steppe Crimea. Their distinctive features are the use of an older kurgan for burial, the predominant orientation of the deceased to the northern sector, the insignificant depth of the burial, the paucity of grave goods, etc. – typical for early Sarmatian burials of the Northern Black Sea region. Therefore, the complexes under consideration should be correlated specifically with this cultural group. It is important to emphasize that, although large-scale field research in recent years has covered a significant part of the steppe space of the Crimean Peninsula, passing through it in a wide strip from east to west, Sarmatian monuments have not been identified in most of this territory. The newly opened complexes are located on the Kerch Peninsula and near it, i.e. in those areas in which Sarmatian burials were previously known. This only confirms the conclusion already made about the location of Sarmatian burials in the Steppe Crimea only in a narrow strip along the northern and north-eastern borders of the region, along the coast of the Black Sea and Sivash. This location, apparently, marks the path of the ancient nomads from the Dnieper region – one of the main areas of their settlement – to the ancient centers of the Crimean Peninsula, in particular Panticapaeum, to carry out trade and other relationships.

Новые погребальные комплексы сарматского времени из кургана на Кавказских Минеральных Водах

In 2010, the expedition of the Nasledie State Unitary Enterprise (Stavropol) conducted archaeological excavations on the territory of the Caucasian Mineral Waters and excavated the kurgan 1 of the Voniuchka-1 kurgan cemetery near the city of Pyatigorsk. The kurgan originated in the Eneolithic era; its construction and use as a cemetery continued up to the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. The most extensive changes in the kurgan are associated with the North Caucasian archaeological culture. The Sarmatian burials of the early Iron Age became the final ones in the kurgan; this study is devoted to their material publication and analysis. Single burials and grave goods (probably the remains of a funeral feast) were compactly located in the central part of the kurgan. The burial rite and the inventory are described in detail and examined in the system of both chronologically close Sarmatian newcomers and Pre-Caucasus aboriginal monuments. In general, the funeral rite of the published burials is quite uniform and corresponds to the canons of the pre-Caucasian Sarmatian kurgans. The burials and the cluster are chronologically close to each other, and the inventory found in them has numerous analogies among the synchronous sites of the Pre-Caucasus. At the same time, some details of the funeral rite, in particular the discovery of three left front legs of sheep in two burials, together with a number of other facts, indicate a kinship relationship between the buried. The Sarmatian burials in kurgan 1 of the Voniuchka-1 cemetery can be considered a small ancestral cemetery created, most likely, during the lifetime of one generation. The general dating of the burials and the accompanying funeral feast fits into the framework of the 3rd (possibly 2nd) – 1st centuries BC. There is a high probability of their connection with the Sirak tribal union, and this cemetery is located on the southern border of the territory occupied by it.

Позднесарматское клинковое оружие из погребений Березовского курганного могильника

Introduction. One of the main types of Sarmatian weapons is bladed weapons, represented by daggers and swords. The relatively small number of Late Sarmatian burials in the forest-steppe Podonye determines the importance of publishing new materials – daggers and swords. Materials. The materials for the analysis were artifacts (iron daggers and swords) discovered during the study of kurgan burial ground 4 near the village of Berezovka in the Vorobyevsky district of the Voronezh region (left bank of the Middle Don). In four of the seven burials examined, bladed weapons were found. The dead were buried under separate mounds in elongated rectangular pits and chambers clogged with continental clay. The heads of the buried were directed to the southern sector (three burials) and to the east-northeast (one burial). Bladed weapons were located according to the tradition of the Scythians and Sarmatians – at the right hand with the tip to the extremities of the legs. Methods. The study used a comparative typological method that allowed us to distinguish the found daggers and swords into a separate type of bladed weapons; the method of analogies, which was used to compare the type with similar finds in the Sarmatian culture; and the chronological method, which made it possible to attribute the discovered blades to the late Sarmatian culture. Analysis. During the analysis of artifacts, typical signs of bladed weapons characteristic of the late Sarmatian culture were identified; although the time of their appearance belongs to the early and Middle Sarmatian periods, their chronological framework was determined (mid-2nd – 4th centuries AD). A dagger and a sword were found together in two burials. Results. All burials in which bladed weapons were found belong to men (age range from 25–30 years to 35–40 years). Judging by the available data, the joint occurrence of a dagger and a sword in the burial may indicate in favor of the opinion that there are burials of professional soldiers in the burial ground.

Этническая карта Северного Причерноморья на рубеже эр

The article discusses the complicated theme of the localization of peoples and tribes in the northern Black Sea region at the turn of epochs. The authors use the method of interpretation of ancient authors’ information while comparing it with broad archeological data. The research allows to successfully localize particular peoples and numerous tribes of the given time on the ethnic map of the region. The research shows that most tribes and peoples left a bright trace in ethnic history of the northern Black Sea region. However, not all ethnic groups dwelling there at that time found their place in the region’s geographical space. Some localizations still belong to scientific uncertainties. This confirms the relevance of the research. In addition to a thorough analysis of the ancient written tradition, the authors also involve archaeological material to prove the location of the tribes. Thanks to this comprehensive study, it has been established that after the few recorded Sarmatian burials of the II–I centuries BC in the areas between the Dnieper and the Don and in the north-western Black Sea coast, the number of Sarmatian monuments of the second half of the first century B.C – early first century AD to the west of the Dniester increases sharply. Several barrow burial mounds of the Zubo-Vozdvizhensky group of Sarmatian monuments appeared on the left bank of the Kuban River in the second half of the first century BC, which differ in some respects from the Central Sarmatian complexes of the Kuban area. The tombs have pronounced Central Asian cultural elements. In this respect the authors pay special attention to the decay of Southern Ural steppes at the turn of the our era due to aridisation and shift of the center of Middle Sarmatian culture towards the Lower Don. Thus, the study confirms the enormous role of migrations from the depths of Asia in the formation of the Middle Sarmatian culture and in the emergence of many innovations in the Sarmatian culture of the first century AD.

Two-Sided Glass Gems from the Sarmatian Burials of the Lower Volga Region

Two-Sided Glass Gems from the Sarmatian Burials of the Lower Volga Region

Swords from Sauromato–Sarmatian Burial Mounds of Western Kazakhstan Analyzed

Introduction. In Eurasia’s history and archeology, the issues of origins, inhabited territories, and political history of Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes remain understudied. Archaeological data are supplemented with messages on Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes contained in works of ancient writers, since no written sources have been found in monuments of those tribes proper. Goals. The study aims to analyze historical sources and archaeological data, examine the history of origins of Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes to have inhabited the Southern Uralsin the Iron Age,and focuses on swords from Sauromato-Sarmatian monuments of Western Kazakhstan. Materials. Swords and daggers that constitute the bulk of finds from burials provide valuable information for determining chronologies of burial grounds or certain burials and identifying areas once inhabitedby the nomadic tribes,with regional features of those tribes be duly distinguished. A. Melyukova, K. Smirnov, A. Khazanov, E. Chernenko, A. Simonenko, P. Shulga, V. Kocheev and other researchers have developed a chronological typology for swords and daggers from monuments of nomadic tribes of the Northern Black Sea, the North Caucasus, and other regions. However, Sauromato-Sarmatian weapons from Western Kazakhstan have remained unstudied without any chronological typology developed. So, the work employs experiences of the above-mentioned researchers and systematizes the available and newlyobtained data to develop a typological classification and chronology of swords from Sauromato-Sarmatian burial grounds excavated in the territory of Western Kazakhstan. Results. The paper notes that the Sauromato-Sarmatians descend from Bronze Age populations to have created the Andronovo and Srubnaya cultures, and had a close relationship with the Saka tribes. It is deemed that Sarmatian tribes were formed on the basis of Sauromatians, i.e. those had had common roots. Furthermore, insights into archaeological data conclude the tribes had lived in the territory of Western Kazakhstan, yield a typological classification of swords discovered in mounds across the region, and result in a scientific analysis. The work attempts a statistical analysis of swords and daggers from Sauromato-Sarmatian mounds of Western Kazakhstan, provides scientific conclusions as to predominant types of weapons and manufacturing technologies. The article also highlights some specific features of sword types identified, areas of distribution, and performs a comparative analysis.

Oб атрибуции статера царя Митридата, найденного в 2013 г. при раскопках городища Артезиан

The unique stater 46/47 CE on both sides has imprinted busts of men turned to the right: on the obverse — a beardless man in a laurel wreath, framed by the legend “ΒΑCΙΛΕΩC ΜΙΘΡΙΔΑΤΟΥ”, and on the reverse — a bearded man without a headdress, deliberately barbaric in appearance. In front of the latter there is a sign known both in Central Asia (Khwarazm, where it was found on coins, Kangju and nomadic territories of South and West Kazakhstan), and among the Sarmatians of Eastern Europe. Probably, the studied coin was minted on behalf of the king Mithridates III. It has two portraits: on the obverse — Emperor Claudius, on the reverse — the aforementioned Bosporan sovereign. Such a tamga (its different placement in space was allowed) was previously presented in Europe on a slab from the Artesian fortress in the same row with the Aspurgos sign. It is located in the center of the “Kerch written slab” with almost 500 signs. After the middle of the 1 st c. CE, such a sign on a horse stamp is presented in the Lower Don necropolis of Kirsanovskii III in the Middle Sarmatian burial of an aristocrat. Apparently, this is the last representative of this clan, so the stamp (the rarest case) was buried with him. Probably, the tamga on the coin represents the sign of a clan that belonged to a very influential aristocracy of Central Asian origin, which turned out to be by the beginning of the 1 st c. CE on the territory of the Kuban Siraces, and after the strengthening of the Alans migrated to the mouth of the Don.

Двусторонние геммы-литики из погребения № 13 кургана № 1 могильника «Богомольные пески-I»

The article examines five double-sided glass gems found as elements of a bracelet on the left wrist of a child aged 2,5–3 years in the burial no. 13 of the kurgan no. 1 of the “Bogomol’nye peski-I” group near the village of Nikol’skoe, Enotaevskiy District, Astrakhan Region. The inventory of the burial gives grounds for its dating within a broad frame of the 1st – first half of the 2nd century AD. As in the Scythian burials of the Dnieper region, glass gems in the kurgan of the “Bogomol’nye peski-I” group were found in a child’s burial. They were considered by their owners as items of jewelry and amulets, and not as a means for imprinting images. It is worth noting that the images on the sides of the same gem are rarely semantically related to each other, but rather give the impression of a rather random choice of subjects. In many cases, the motives go back to gems of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods. Given the fact that the images on the glass gems were mechanically reproduced from intaglios, there is reason to suppose that these were works of glyptics from the late Hellenistic period, which could theoretically be used for making glass gems at a later period. The uniqueness of double-sided glass gems, on the one hand, and their distribution in the North Pontic region in the 6th–4th centuries BC, on the other hand, give grounds to suggest the possibility of the origin of finds originating from the Sarmatian burials of the Lower Volga region from the workshops of the North Black Sea region, possibly of the Bosporan Kingdom.

Раннесарматские погребения могильника Верхний Балыклей I из Заволжья

The paper introduces into scientific discourse the materials of the early Sarmatian burials from the Verkhniy Balykley I kurgan cemetery from the area of the Volgograd Trans-Volga region. This monument was studied in the course of the 1978–1979 expedition organized by the Volgograd State Pedagogical Institute under the leadership of A.S. Skripkin. Materials. The burial includes four mounds located compactly on the banks of the reservoir and one single mound setting far away in the steppe. Eighteen inlet burials of the early Sarmatian time were found in three Bronze Age kurgans. Some burials contained no burial inventory; others did include a variety of grave goods. The funeral rites present a wide range of grave structures: pits with side chambers, simple rectangular pits and catacombs. The southern body orientation of the buried individuals was dominating. In kurgans 5 and 6, a circular arrangement of graves is traced, which is typical for early Sarmatian mounds-cemeteries. Material analysis. An analysis of the grave goods indicates 3rd – 1st centuries BC is the time of construction of most burials in these kurgans, which does not contradict the funeral rite traditions and reveals a range of features characteristic of the nomads of that period. A military burial with a long sword and arrows is one of the most distinguished in its kind. Ceramic material is represented by various stucco forms of pots, an incense burner and a jug. Fragments of mirrors with rollers along the edge and beads were discovered in several burials. Several stone “miniature hammers”, typical for the South Ural grave materials of this period, is also an interesting find. Conclusions. In general, the studied monuments illustrate the burial traditions of the early Sarmatian population of the Ural-Volga steppes of the early Sarmatian time. The finds of pottery samples, previously unknown stone “miniature hammers” in the west of the Volga, allow us to conclude on the cultural proximity of the nomads who left the mounds near the village Verhniy Balykley with the South Ural nomads. Authors’ contribution. In this paper, Anatoly S. Skripkin prepared a descriptive part of the archaeological material; Vladimir I. Moiseev analyzed the funeral rite and the inventory. Mikhail V. Krivosheev drew and presented conclusions on the analysis of the material.

Краніологія жінок скіфської культури з території України

У статті охарактеризовано рівень неоднорідності представниць жіноцтва скіфської культури з території лісостепу та степу України, з’ясовано їх місце серед синхронних жіночих скіфських, сарматських груп та серій епохи пізнього енеоліту, бронзи, зрубної культури Євразії. Мета статті – ввести в науковий обіг нові краніологічні дані. Методологія. В основі дослідження лежать принципи історизму та об’єктивності, використано загальнонаукові (аналіз і синтез), історичні (порівняльно-історичний), антропологічні та статистичні методи. Також застосовувалися три стандартні методики: краніометрія (за Р. Мартіним), етнічна краніоскопія (яку запропонував О. Г. Козінцев) та краніофенетика (за методикою А. Беррі, Р. Дж. Беррі, яку апробувала А. А. Мовсесян). При інтерпретації даних використано комп’ютерні програми Б. О. та О. Г. Козінцевих. Наукова новизна. Вперше досліджено череп жінки із поховання 12 у с. Медвин Богуславського району Київської обл., датований VII–VI ст. до н. е. Висновки. Загалом після залучення всього масиву жіночих поховань як степової, так і лісостепової Скіфії (71 череп) з території сучасної України, на черепах із котрих збереглося 12 краніометричних ознак та один індекс за Р. Мартіним (1, 8, 20, 9, 45, 48, 55, 54, 51, 52, 77, zm, SS:SC), виявлено неоднорідність жінок скіфської культури з лісостепу України. Досліджуваний череп жінки 30–40 р. із поховання 12 у с. Медвин Богуславського району Київської обл., датований VII–VI ст. до н. е., за своєю морфологією потрапляє до третього, мезокранного, широколицього краніологічного варіанта з дуже низьким склепінням, який після канонічного та кластерного аналізів виявляє подібність до жіночої мезокранної серії катакомбної культури з території України, а також мезокранної, широколицьої вибірки скіфської культури зі Східного Криму – Фронтове-І, які археологи датують V–IV ст. до н. е. Східний напрям зв’язку незначний і проявляється подібністю четвертого, мезокранного (або суббрахікранного) краніологічного варіанта з високим склепінням до сарматських поховань, що датуються III–І ст. до н. е. Методом аналізу головних компонент і канонічним багатовимірним аналізом не виявлено морфологічних розбіжностей між степовими та лісостеповими жіночими черепами.

New Finding of an Imported Helmet in a Sarmatian Burial on the Right Bank of the Kuban

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.

Early Sarmatian Burials from the Chechen Republic Territory

In 2018, Kurgan 2 of Gvardeyskiye 3 Kurgany (the 3rd Gvardeiskiy Kurgans) in the Nadterechny District of the Chechen Republic was studied. In the result, nine burials were found in the Kurgan which was created during the Early Bronze Age and continued to be used in the course of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. However, the three most recent burials date back to the Early Iron Age period. The burials were localized inside the existing embankment and formed a compact group. In two cases, the burial type was not identified; nevertheless in one case, the burial was constructed in a catacomb. The grave goods are mainly presented by ceramic vessels from the workshops of the sedentary population from the foothill area of Central and Eastern North Caucasus regions. The conclusion was made that the investigated Kurgans were left by the nomadic North Caucasian steppes population of the 3rd–1st centuries BC due to the feature analysis of the Early Iron Age burial complexes.

SARMATIAN BURIALS EXCAVATED BY DMYTRO BEREZOVETS AT THE LOWER DNIEPER BASIN

During the campaigns of 1951 and 1953 Dmytro Berezovets excavated the Sarmatian graves near the Kut, Hrushivka and Marianske villages of Apostolovski district of Dnipropetrovsk region. These materials were published briefly, without typological and chronological definitions and analysis of the historical context, with illustrations of rather low quality. Moreover, there was some confusion and errors later made by some researchers, including the author, which have been replicated with each reference. Therefore, it is worthy to republish these materials from the standpoint of the current level of the Sarmatian studies in order to correct certain errors as well.
 Dmytro Berezovets has discovered the assemblages both of Early Sarmatian (Kut, Hrushivka, Maryanske, barrow 3, grave 4) and Middle Sarmatian Age (Marianske, barroow 5, graves 5—7; barrow 5, grave 6; barrow 6, grave 14) according to traditional chronology. All Sarmatian burials under study were the secondary graves in the Bronze Age mounds and Scythian ones. The skeletons lied supine, with their heads directed to Northern sector. Among the grave goods are the Roman and Sarmatiam pottery, simple bronze adornment, cornelian, jade and glass beads, bronze mirror, bone ritual spoon etc. The Early Sarmatian assemblages discovered by Dmytro Berezovets are dated to the late 2nd—1st century BC, the Middle Sarmatiam ones to the 1st—2nd centuries AD. The identical funeral rite of the graves of different date near Marianske once again confirms the validity of the periodization proposed by me in due time, according to which all the graves under study belong to different phases of the first period (phase A2 — Kut, Hrushivka, Marianske, barrow 3, grave 4; phase B — Marianske, barrow 3, graves 5—7; barrow 5, grave 6; barrow 6, grave 14).

RESULTS OF THE EXPLORATION OF A SMALL WATCH FORTRESS OF THE SCYTHIAN ERA

The article presents the results of the first studies of the defensive line of the hillfort located on the cape of the right bank of the river Don near the village 1st Storozhevoe in the Voronezh region. On a plot of 124 sq. m, a rampart, a moat and the adjacent territory were researched. Ceramic fragments were discovered that remained from an unfortified settlement of the Bronze Age. In the embankment of the rampart, four Sarmatian burials of the 1st - 2nd centuries AD were discovered. The fortifications themselves, according to the characteristic ceramic materialls of the beginning of the Scythian era, are dated to the second half of the 6th - beginning of the 5th centuries BC. At an early stage, they apparently consisted of a ground structure that had a defensive and residential purpose. At some distance from the building, there was also an outer wall. These structures are traced along three parallel grooves deepened into the clay. After the fire destroyed the structure, a rampart and a moat were erected in the settlement. In its present state, the embankment of the rampart has a width of about 6 m at the base, and a height above the mainland - more than 0.7 m. It consists mainly of dark gray loam, including lumps of red clay and burnt soil. The moat, now almost completely flooded by ground, is 1.5-1.9 m wide and up to 0.8 m deep.

Еще раз о бронзовых сосудах из Мутинского могильника (о германских воинах на Сейме и германо-сарматских контактах на рубеже нашей эры)

The author attempts to attribute bronze vessels found on the late 1st century BC burial-ground near the village of Mutin on the right bank of the Sejm river in the north-east of the Ukraine. In particular, he offers a detailed discussion on the Beaucaire situla, belonging to a rare type of Late Republican vessels, distributed mainly in the south of France and northern Italy, which in the European Barbaricum, until now, was represented only by a find from the Ehestorf-Vahrendorf cemetery on the Lower Elbe. He studies traces of repairs on the Mutin vessels. These observations make it possible to specify possible origin of the warriors cremated in Mutin, about 2,000 km east of the Lower Saxony. The find in one of the burials of a round-bottomed cauldron with a spherical body is compared with the cauldrons from the Sarmatian burials of the 1st century BC — 1st century AD in the Don region, the interfluve of Don and Volga and the Kuban region. Such cauldrons are unknown either in the Roman Empire or in Germania magna, thus, allowing to suggest that the warrior, who was cremated in the burial-ground on the Sejm river could get it as a result of contacts with the Sarmatians. Other arguments support the hypothesis that the contacts of the Germans with the Sarmatians could have taken place much earlier than previously assumed, in the last decades of the 1st century BC and that such contacts could be mostly in the military context.

Кости животных из позднесарматских погребений курганной группы «Кермен Толга»

Introduction. The article introduces results of studies of animal bones excavated by the archaeological expedition of Kalmyk Research Institute of History, Philology and Economics (with E. V. Tsutskin as leading scientist) from Late Sarmatian burials within the Kermen Tolga Mound Group in the Sarpa Lowlands in 1979. Goals. The paper provides detailed descriptions of the animal bone remains, identifies their species composition, enumerates and compares the samples. Results. The study shows all the investigated Late Sarmatian burials of the Kermen Tolga Mound Group contained bone remains of only one domesticated animal — sheep (Ovis aries). Conclusions. The analysis of bone materials described in the field summary report and stored at Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS reveals that seven of the ten female burials excavated were containing bones of the back right leg, while in four of the six male burials there were found bones of the back left leg. The conclusions are preliminary but there is a definite relationship between the gender of each single buried individual and the side of animal’s body used therein. This may indicate the earlier unnoticed element of Late Sarmatian funeral rites.

Погребальный комплекс среднесарматского времени из могильника Опушки в Крыму

The Necropolis of Opushki is located in approximately 15 km to the east from Simferopol, 2–2,5 km to the south-west from the village of Opushki of Mazanka Rural Settlement in Crimea. Illegal excavations have been conducted on the territory of the cemetery since 2002. More than 200 burials constructions were destroyed as a result of grave robbers actions on the territory of about 3 hectares. Scientific researches of the necropolis were conducted in 2003 – 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013–2014, 2016–2020. During this period, more than 300 burials of different types have been uncovered (crypts, simple pit graves, shaft-and-chambers graves, slab graves and cist tomb). Judging by excavated sites, the cemetery was in continuous use from the 1st century BC until the 4th century AD. Among the researched burial constructions there are crypts typical for the Late Scythian period, middle and late Sarmatian burials, crypts influenced by the Northern Caucasus Alans arriving in Crimea, cremation performed by German tradition. The paper is devoted to the middle Sarmatian paired burial in the grave № 233 excavated in 2018. The assemblage of grave goods from that grave is quite various and informative: bronze fibulae, bronze and iron bracelets, red slip pottery, beads. The chronology of the burial assemblage may be defined as the second half of the 1st – first half of the 2nd centuries AD. The funeral rite of paired burials is not typical for the tradition of individual burials in first centuries, although its features are found in the burial grounds of the Central and South-Western Crimea. This funeral rite is associated with the issues of family structure and social relations in the late Scythian society.

Мечи и кинжалы без металлического навершия из меотских памятников правобережья Кубани

The article is devoted to typology and chronology of swords and daggers without a metal pommel from the Maeotian cemeteries of the right bank of the Kuban. We took into account 57 pieces of this type of weapon from closed complexes. In this paper, we use the typological scheme of A.M. Khazanov, developed on the materials of the Sarmatian armament. The Maeotian swords and daggers of mentioned group are divided into three types: 1 – swords and daggers with a rain-guard; 2 – swords and daggers without a rain-guard, the blade and the hilt make an obtuse angle; 3 – swords and daggers without rain-guards, the blade and the hilt make a right angle. Metal tangs of hilts differ by shape and size; thus they are divided into two variants: “a” – rectangular or triangular; “b” – a long pin. The swords of the “a” variant had wooden overlays on the handles, sometimes fastened with rivets or winding, and the handles of the “b” variant swords were mounted on a tang. Chronological dating of the burials indicates that bladed weapon of this type appears among the Maeotians of the Kuban right bank in the beginning of the 1st cent. AD and remains there until the middle of the 3rd cent. AD. And the main time of its use is the 1–2 cent. A.D. Swords and daggers of all types from Maeotian assemblages have existed at the same time, just like ones from the Sarmatian burials of the Lower Volga region. But, unlike the Sarmatian sites with no predominance of any particular sword type, the Maeotians show clear advantage of type 2 blades.