Pages: 197-210 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp234197210 

The research studies children’s burials at the ancient settlement “Belinskoye” and its necropolis. The authors conclude that the ritual of these burials strongly depended on a concrete military, political and ethnic situation in this western boundary area of the European Bosporus. Up to the middle of the 3 ^rd century AD, infants’ burials in the necropolis of “Belinskoye” fortified settlement generally corresponded to the similar rites in other ancient necropolises. However, later in the course of the changing ethnic composition of the population, the practice of burying adults and children directly in the settlement spread there. These actions were aimed at providing maximum divine protection to the settlement, by this time already completely deprived of defensive walls and virtually defenseless against enemies’ attacks.

Keywords: Bosporan Kingdom, “Belinskoye” settlement, necropolis of “Belinskoye” settlement, children’s burials, ritual burials, Late Scythians, Goths

Information about authors:

Sergey Yartsev (Tula, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University. Lenin Ave., 125, Tula, 300026, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-5532-211X
Victor Zubarev (Tula, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University. Lenin Ave., 125, Tula, 300026, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-8831-9101
Elena Shushunova (Tula, Russian Federation). Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University. Lenin Ave., 125, Tula, 300026, Russian Federation. Lenin Ave., 125, Tula, 300026, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-0237-4383
Artem Vnukov (Tula, Russian Federation). Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University. Lenin Ave., 125, Tula, 300026, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-4051-0190