Pages: 395-435 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp263395435

This article presents the first publication of the Scythian graves of barrow 6 of the Korotnoye/Kulak cemetery. The initial burial mound was built in the first half of the 3rd century BC over two adult graves, with two child burials subsequently intrusive to the mound. Construction of a second mound phase dates to the third quarter of the 3rd century BC; this phase is associated with a female burial in a T-shaped catacomb and the simultaneous interment of children in two separate side-niches. A secondary interment of an adult male was later introduced into the catacomb. The grave goods reflect diverse intercultural interactions: a bronze horse frontlet, a bracelet, an earring, and a handmade incense cup attest to Thracian influence, while a handmade cup and a lamp express Greek cultural contact. Concurrently, an iron fibula and the ribbed ornamentation on a silver belt hook demonstrate La Tène influence. Notably, the horse harness recoered from Catacomb 6 marks the first recorded instance in a 3rd—2nd century BC Scythian grave where protective and decorative horse harness was found directly on the horse skeletal remains, revealing an exceptional ritual variation. During the male warrior’s interment, the skull of a horse approximately 1.5 years old — outfitted with its harness — was placed inside the catacomb chamber. Subsequently, the headless carcass of a second horse, roughly 3 years old, was deposited within the entrance shaft. This distinct ritual of isolating the horse head within the burial chamber not only emphasizes the elite status of the deceased warrior but also sheds new light on the wider phenomenon of depositing individual horse skulls in the entrance pits of Scythian catacomb barrows across the Northwestern Black Sea region.

Keywords: left bank of the Lower Dniester, Scythians, the 3rd — the 2nd centuries BC, barrow, graves, horse bones, weapons, horse harness, vessels, adornments

Information about authors:

Nikolaj Telnov (Kishinev, Moldova). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Pridnestrovian State University named after T. G. Shevchenko. Pokrovskaia St., 128, Tiraspol, MD-3300, Moldova
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-6878-0216

Sergey Razumov (Tiraspol, Moldova). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Pridnestrovian State University named after T. G. Shevchenko. Pokrovskaia St., 128, Tiraspol, MD-3300, Moldova
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-6030-9390

Dmitriy Patkevich (Tiraspol, Moldova). Pridnestrovian State University named after T. G. Shevchenko. Pokrovskaia St., 128, Tiraspol, MD-3300, Moldova
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0009-0007-6936-5533

Mikhail Ivashchenko (Saratov, Russian Federation). Saratov National Research State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky. Astrakhanskaya St., 83, Saratov, 410012, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-6578-9717

Pavel Kosintsev (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 8th March St., 202, Yekaterinburg, 620130, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0973-7426
Scopus Author ID: 22134777900

Anton Kochnev (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation). PhD of history. Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin. Mira St., 19, Yekaterinburg, 620002, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0009-0001-9764-1765

Vitalij Sinika (Tiraspol, Moldova). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Pridnestrovian State University named after T. G. Shevchenko. Pokrovskaia St., 128, Tiraspol, MD-3300, Moldova
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-1621-9205