Scythian Burial of the Child with the Sword Model in the Lower Dniester

Abstract

The paper for the first time publishes and analyzes the materials obtained in the study of the burial of the child no. 10 in the barrow 16 of the “Sluiceway” group near the Glinoe village, Slobodzeya district, on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. The grave dates back to the third quarter of the 4th century BC and contained the burial of a small child. The western part of the pit was intended to sacrificial food and a knife, and the eastern part was intended for the body of the child and grave goods, where a “bed” was made of a mixture of natural clay and humus. Two Cypraea moneta shells, one glass bead, as well as an iron model of the sword were part of the necklace. The last find is a unique item in the Scythian burials of the North Black Sea region. It imitated swords of the Solokha type (with claw-shaped tops and false-triangular crosshairs), known in the Scythian burials of the Northern Black Sea Region from the last quarter of the 5th century BC until the end of the 4th century BC. It is noteworthy that it was such a sword that was found in the pair burial of the same barrow where the burial of the child was sunk. There is no doubt that the model of the sword in the necklace of a child was a votive object. Perhaps it indicated the child's belonging to the estate of the warriors.