Valery I. Gulyaev^a, Semyon A. Volodin^a,#, and Aleksandr A. Shevchenko^a,##

^a Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia

^#E-mail: volodinsaimon@gmail.com
^##E-mail: she.shevchenko@yandex.ru

Keywords: Scythians, mound, the Middle Don, Scythian period, Sarmatian period, Scythian animal style, funeral rite.

The article is a preliminary publication of the results of research by the Don archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archaeology RAS in 2021. During the field season, the expedition explored mound 7 of the Devitsa V cemetery. As a result of investigation on the mound, one entrance burial of the Sarmatian period was found. The main burial under the mound was made in a wooden frame-pillar tomb in the Scythian era. Although the grave had been plundered, a significant part of the inventory remained intact in the central burial including weapon, horse gear, hand-made pottery, and items of the burial bed ornamentation. While studying the grave, the expedition found a silver mount decorated with unique anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images. The grave goods allow dating the complex to the third quarter of the 4th century BC.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606322030072