Three Sarmatian Funeral Complexes From the Steppe Crimea

The work analyzes three recently discovered burial monuments of the 1st century BC – mid (?) 1st century AD in the Steppe Crimea. Their distinctive features are the use of an older kurgan for burial, the predominant orientation of the deceased to the northern sector, the insignificant depth of the burial, the paucity of grave goods, etc. – typical for early Sarmatian burials of the Northern Black Sea region. Therefore, the complexes under consideration should be correlated specifically with this cultural group. It is important to emphasize that, although large-scale field research in recent years has covered a significant part of the steppe space of the Crimean Peninsula, passing through it in a wide strip from east to west, Sarmatian monuments have not been identified in most of this territory. The newly opened complexes are located on the Kerch Peninsula and near it, i.e. in those areas in which Sarmatian burials were previously known. This only confirms the conclusion already made about the location of Sarmatian burials in the Steppe Crimea only in a narrow strip along the northern and north-eastern borders of the region, along the coast of the Black Sea and Sivash. This location, apparently, marks the path of the ancient nomads from the Dnieper region – one of the main areas of their settlement – to the ancient centers of the Crimean Peninsula, in particular Panticapaeum, to carry out trade and other relationships.