Pages: 181-186

The authors consider a certain type of moveable altars made of stone: they are oval in shape, standing on four conic legs, and having a rim with a drainage channel. The analysis of their technical features and data from Rigveda and other written sources were used to reconstruct their purpose and the role they played in priestly practices. Their function as ritual vessels used in the rite involving milk and blood of sacred animals is suggested. An evidence to this, the authors maintain, is their morphological resemblance with udder.

Keywords: Western Siberia, Sargat culture, Sauromatian culture, altar, small altar, semantics, barrow cemetery

Information about authors:

Denis Plachuta (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Novosibirsk State Agricultural University. Dobrolyubov St., 160, Novosibirsk, 630039, Russian Federation
Alexandra Avtushkova (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Novosibirsk State Museum of Local Studies. Krasny Ave., 23, Novosibirsk, 630099, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]