Two Fibulae from “Early-Sarmatian” Burials of the North-Western Black Sea Region

Abstract

The article analyzes the metal fibulae found in 2 burials: the first one in the burial No. 4 from the Kholmskoe cemetery and the second one in the burial No.7 from the kurgan No. 1 near to the Nikolskoe village. These burials appear in most of the generalizing works as the most ancient Sarmatian monuments of the North-Western Black Sea Region, although their exact date is still debatable. Furthermore, the researchers date the complex from the burial Kholmskoe to the different time periods such as: the beginning / first half / the end of the 1st century BC, or even later time.While the burial near to the Nikolskoe village is dated by various time intervals – from the second half of the 3rd century BC to the middle of the 2nd century BC. Acquaintance with the original fibula from the burial No. 4 of the Kholmskoe cemetery, stored in the Odessa Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, has allowed the author to identify this sample with the latest form of fibula of the Early La Tene scheme, which existed in the 2nd century BC, possibly in the second half of this century. Additionally, the fibula from the burial No.7 of the kurgan close to the Nikolskoye village should be dated within the 2nd century BC, since it belongs to the “dismembered” fibulae of the Middle La Tene scheme. It is important to highlight that both items, regardless of their narrow dating, are undoubtedly more ancient artifacts compared to the majority of fibulae of the Northern Black Sea region, marking the earliest Sarmatian monuments in the region. Sarmatian antiquities, which are synchronous to the mentioned particular artifacts are inherent only to the Volga-Don steppes and further to the east. In this regard, it is more relevant to correlate the studied complexes under consideration with the simultaneous and territorially close monuments of the Tiraspol group, reasonably associated with the Late Scythian culture.

Keywords

• north-western black sea region
• cemetery
• kurgan
• barrow
• fibula
• late scythians
• sarmatians
• hellenistic period