Pages: 75-86

There are a few burials containing prestigious armaments, horse equipment and male outfit — swords, bits, buckles in the Cimmerian Bosporus of the second half of the 5th — first half of the 6th centuries (Kerch, tomb 163.1904, tomb 6.1905, Jurga-Oba, tomb 40, Taman, tomb of 1912, finds out of context). The prestigious nature of the objects attests to their belonging to the burials of the Bosporan ruling elite of post-Hunnic time. Similar burials of the same time are well known in Central and Western Europe and reflect the “princely” culture of the “barbarian” kingdoms of the beginning of the Middle Ages. At the same time, the Cimmerian Bosporus has earlier burials (the end of 4th — the first half of the 5th century) with arms, horse equipment and elements of prestigious male outfit, which allows us to see the continuity of the cultural traditions of the Bosporan aristocracy during the Great Migration Period.

Keywords: Cimmerian Bosporus, post-Hunnic period, burials of nobility, swords, buckles, horse equipment

Information about author:

Michel Kazanski (Paris, France). Doctor Habilitat on Archaeology. National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 52, Paris, 75005, France
E-mail: [email protected]