The Polovtsian Stone Woman from the Outskirts of the Denisovo-Nikolaevka Farmstead

Abstract

This research is devoted to the publication and analysis of the Polovtsian stone sculpture discovered in the summer of 2018 in the North-Eastern Azov region, on the outskirts of the farmstead Denisovo-Nikolaevka, Kuibyshev district of the Rostov region. The undamaged condition of the found specimen allows to determine its type, to draw analogies with similar findings based on early published materials, as well as collections of local museums. Analyzing archaeological discovery, we can conclude that a male Polovtsian stone statue was discovered. As for the dating of the stone, with a high degree of caution it can be attributed to a group of later Polovtsian statues of the late 12th – early 13th centuries. Such findings are very rare and can give us new knowledge about the level of development of culture, fine arts and religious beliefs of the Polovtsians.

Keywords

• polovtsian stone woman
• stone statues of the south russian and volga steppes
• stone sculpture
• statue
• hisyorical source
• type
• typology