COMPOSITE EARRINGS WITH AMPHORA-SHAPED PENDANTS FROM SARMATIAN SITES IN THE NORTH PONTIC REGION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2026.02.02Keywords:
jewellery art, Sarmatians, earrings, Hellenistic period, Roman period.Abstract
The composite earrings from Sarmatian burials at the Nohaychik Barrow and Sokolova Mohyla, as well as similar adornments from the necropolises of Pantikapaion on Glinyshche and Mount Mithridates, and Olbia are analysed in the paper. Most known examples of such earrings from the North Pontic region date to the 1st century AD. The only known exception is a pair of exquisite earrings with emeralds of the late 2nd—1st century BC from Nohaychik Barrow. The dating of this burial assemblage is still debated. According to Yuriy Zaitsev and Valentina Mordvintseva, it is dated to the first half of the 1st century BC. In contrast, Oleksandr Symonenko dated it to the second half of the 1st — early 2nd century AD. In the 1st century AD earrings with amphora-shaped pendants and chains retained the elements that linked them to Hellenistic jewellery in general, and specifically to the Nogaychik earrings. The remake of design details of the Hellenistic adornments clearly demonstrates that «old» jewellery or its components have been known during Roman times. This is additionally evidenced by the prolongation of jewellery production based on older designs from the 2nd—1st century BC, albeit altered and reinterpreted. Such a feature may be explained by the persistence of certain types of Hellenistic jewellery in use during Roman times, catering to the aesthetic preferences of local elites who valued vivid ornamentation and expressive details. In this context, the significant number of late Hellenistic jewellery in the Nohaychik Barrow does not seem unusual if we accept the late dating proposed by Oleksandr Symonenko. Especially considering the impression that the Nohaychik jewellery set was carefully and tastefully selected by its owneress and highly valued, as confirmed by the traces of repair on the earrings. It is undeniable that the earrings from the Nohaychik Barrow are imports and demonstrate certain features traditionally associated with jewellery from the Southeastern Mediterranean. The production of earrings of this pattern from burials of the 1st century AD can probably be attributed to the North Pontic region.
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