TORQUES FROM THE LATE SCYTHIAN AND SARMATIAN BURIALS OF THE LOWER DNIEPER REGION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2022.03.23Keywords:
torque, neck adornment, the Late Scythian culture, Sarmatians, Lower Dnieper Region, funeral rite.Abstract
The paper deals with a small collection of neck adornments — the torques from the Late Scythian and Sarmatian burials. They were found in some graves of the Late Scythian necropolis Chervony Mayak and Sarmatian kurgan burials.
The most magnificent, jewelry torques made of gold have been found in Sarmatian burials in the Nohaichik barrow, and near Porohy and Chuhuno-Krepinka villages. They are discussed in detail in a number of publications (Symonenko, Lobai 1991, p. 26—28; 56; Symonenko 1993, p. 71; 2011, p. 104; Treister 1995; Velichko 2012). Torques from the Late Scythian necropoli of the Crimea were analyzed in the work of Dr. Anastasiya Stoyanova (Stoyanova 2011). Late Scythian and Sarmatian torques from burials in the Lower Dnieper region which were not published in the listed works are considered here.
Most torques were found in children’s burials.
The findings of the Lower Dnieper region confirm the hypothesis of Anastasiya Stoyanova that torques with many pendants were most characteristic of Late Scythian culture. According to this observation, the accidental found burial near Shyroka Balka village with torque was attributed as Late Scythian child grave. Pendants on the torque were, most likely, apotropaic. The bucket shape pendants, deer teeth and archaic arrowhead were found among them. Torques with multiple pendants have mostly been found in the girl’s burials.
We attributed the burial 1 in grave 48 of Chervony Mayak burial ground as typical Late Scythian. The most interesting is the way by which the Baltic plate torque had come to the Late Scythian milieu. We cannot exclude that this adornment marks the contacts between Late Scythians and the people of the Post-Zarubinetsy culture of the Forest region.
The torques made even of bronze are the indicators of the special status of their owners.
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