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Burial of a Sarmatian horseman in the eemetery of a Maeotian hillfort

are very rare finds for Kuban area. We know only one such sword from a barrow near stanica Dinskaja (excavated by E.A. Jarkovaja in 1973). This Sarmatian assemblage was dated to the 1st cent. BC. Due to the bad preservation of blade fragments and poor field records, the sword was determined as a short one (Marchenko 1996. 56. Fig. 96: 2). However, it is quite possible that the sword from Dinskaja could also be a long one.

The weapon belt clamp in the shape of a simple loop, attached vertically to the scabbard, is typical for long swords. A similar clamp which belonged to the sword of the type in question, but without a guard, was found in a burial of the second half of the 2nd cent. AD in the Kobjakovo barrow cemetery (Guguev-Bezuglov 1990. 170, 173, Fig. 2: 1, 3).

There were 7 pairs of bits with cheek-pieces placed into the grave. Four pairs had wheelshaped cheek-pieces. Judging from the diameter of cheek-pieces (6.5-6.7 cm) they belong to variant “b”. Three pairs had spokes weld-in directly to the wheel, one pair had spokes weld-in to the edge. Earlier it was considered that this method of joining spokes and the edge (welding-in with edge) is characteristic only for earlier variant “a”, which was dated to the 1st cent. BC (Marchenko 1996. 75, 76). Bits with wheel-shaped cheek-pieces of variant “b” occur not only in the Kuban area, but also at the sites of European and Asian Sarmatia and date to the 1st - first half of the 3rd cent. AD (Marchenko 1996. 76).

One pair of bits lay close to the plate cheek-pieces with welded rectangular loops. Iron plate cheek-pieces close in shape, but with an 8-shaped widening in the middle part, come from Ust’-Labinskaja, barrow 31, which, according to the fibula found here, can be dated to the second half of the 1st- first half of the 2nd cent. AD. From the same assemblage we know bits with additional rings (Gushchina-Zaseckaja 1994. 65, PI. 40, Cat. 363, 367, 368).

The 8-shaped iron carabiner with the remains of a loop should be included into the elements of horse harness. Near to it bits were found. A similar carabiner, fixed on the ring of a bit with looped cheek-pieces is known from barrow 6 found near Tiflisskaja (1908), dated to the second half of the 1 st-2nd cent. AD. (Gushchina-Zaseckaja 1994. 37, note 10, PI. 56, Cat. 555). Carabiners of the same type, including pieces made of gold, are also known in other Sarmatian assemblages of the 1st cent. AD (Simonenko-Lobaj 1991. Fig. 13: 6).

We do not know analogies for the big (shoulder) phalera from Starokorsunskaja, though representations of “vortex” rosette on phalerae occurred already in the 3rd-2nd cent. BC. (Mordvinceva 2001.73, 74, PI. 9: 20, 21, PI. 11: 28). Representations of “vortex” rosettes stylistically close to the type in question can be found on small phalerae from Sarmatian sites. Identical phalerae came from the flat burial of the 1st- early-2nd cent. AD, near village Komsomol’skij (Dvornichenko-Plahov- Sergackov 2002. 226,232, Fig. 3: 6) and grave 1, barrow 64 of cemetery “Carskij”, belonging to the second half of the 1st - early-2nd cent. AD (Vlaskin 1990. 64, 65, 68, Fig. 1: 7). These phalerae differ from the Starokorsunskaja piece by small size (3-4 cm) and iron base, covered with golden foil.

The breast phalera has analogies in Sarmatian assemblages in the south of Eastern Europe. Silver phalerae of the same type from Olbia and village Grushka differ from the Starokorsunskaja piece only by the existence of three loops used for fixing (Simonenko 2004. 204—206, Fig. 4: 1, 2). The burial from Grushka dates to the second half of the 1st - early-2nd cent. AD (Grosu 1986. 259-261, Fig. 1: 24).

Small phalerae in the shape of lion mask still have not got close analogies. The style and size of the image is similar to the decorative plate from Olbia, which, according to A.V. Simonenko (2004. 207,208, Fig. 5), can be dated to the 1st cent. AD. Stylistically different golden phalerae from barrow 10 of the Kobjakovo cemetery have bronze base and glass inlays of glass-like paste not only at the place of the eyes, but also above the forehead (The Treasures of Nomadic Tribes. .. 1991. Cat.

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