Pages: 73-90 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp2637390
This article examines a 2nd—1st century BC ritual hoard discovered in 2025 on a floodplain terrace along the left bank of the Don River, 3.5 km from the village of Pustoshkin. Now housed in the Azov Museum, the assemblage includes a bronze situla and helmet, as along with fragments of a bit, a two-hole horn cheekpiece, and fragments of a spearhead. Both the helmet and situla were ritually decommissioned in antiquity, bearing severe dents and punctures inflicted by the triangular blade of a single-edged weapon. The Pustoshkin helmet belongs to a series of four identical konos helmets found across the North-Eastern Black Sea region; however, this new find is uniquely distinguished by a stamped monogram. In the Hellenistic world, stamps on weaponry remain exceedingly rare. Electron microprobe analysis was used to study the elemental composition of the helmet and the situla, the latter of which likely originated as Roman military equipment. Ultimately, this ritual site provides tangible evidence of Sarmatian involvement in the Mithridatic Wars, aligning closely with contemporary written sources.
Keywords: early Sarmatian culture, votive hoards, Northern Black Sea region, Hellenistic armour, Mithridates VI Eupator
Information about authors:
Vyacheslav Glebov (Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. “Archaeological research Bureau” LLC . Ulyanovskaya St., 50, Rostov-on-Don, 344002, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-9692-4616
Igor Gordin (Azov, Russian Federation). Azov Historical, Archaeological and Paleontological Museum-Reserve named after A. A. Gorbenko. Moskovskaya St., 38/40, Azov, 346780, Rostov Oblast, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0009-0007-4440-6319
Anton Dedyulkin (Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Southern Federal University. Bolshaya Sadovaya St., 105/42, Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-0100-8007
Yuri Popov (Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation). Candidate of Geology and Mineralogy. Institute of Earth Sciences, Southern Federal University. Zorge St. 40, Rostov-on-Don, 344090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0216-5998