A SARMATIAN HORSE-RIDER AT THE COURT OF THE DACIAN KINGS. THE SIGN (II)

Abstract

The present article is the second part of a study dedicated to a cheek-piece discovered in the Dacian fortress from Costești-Cetățuie, in south-western Transylvania. The first paper , published in the same journal, was dedicated to the typology of horse-bits from Dacia, with a focus on the Werner’s types V (variants C-D) and VIII. This time, the spotlight is on a sign incised on the same object, namely a tamga pertaining to the Sarmatian milieu. Various aspects are discussed in this paper: the appearance and characteristics of tamga signs in the north-Pontic area, the association of these signs with certain royal figures and their use in the Dacian environment, the presence of similar horse-bits to the one from Costești in the north Pontic area and, finally, the historical observations this artefact can provide.

Keywords

• tamga, horse-bit, cheek-piece, dacian, sarmatian