Pages: 49-60 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp2144960

The article addresses horse burials in Opushki cemetery located in the central part of the Crimean piedmont. The site has been studied since 2003. Over 50 horse burials have been discovered, made in ground pits of special construction, located in a compact area on the cemetery. Frequently, horses are accompanied by dogs in these burials. Graves were filled with stones, thus forming quite remarkable mounds. The animals were buried fully harnessed. The iron bits with cheek-pieces, buckles, rings and other elements of harness find analogies among the late Scythian and Sarmatian antiquities of the 1st—2-nd centuries AD.

Keywords: Crimea, 1st—2nd centuries BC, Opushki cemetery, Late Scythians, Sarmatians, horse burials, horse harness

Information about authors:

Igor Khrapunov (Simferopol, Crimea). Doctor of Historical Sciences. V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. Academician Vernadsky Ave., 4, Simferopol, 295007, Crimea
E-mail: [email protected]
Stanislav Shabanov (Simferopol, Crimea). Non-Profitable Foundation “Heritage of Millennia”. Chernyshevskogo St., 10а, Simferopol, 295051, Crimea
E-mail: [email protected]