У статті розглянуто поховання з мечами та кинджалами з Усть-Альмінського пізньоскіфського некрополя, визначено їх типи, кількість та хронологію, а також роль клинкової зброї у поховальному обряді — функціональну та як соціальний індикатор. На Усть-Альмінському некрополі з’являються традиції поховального обряду, характерні для населення сарматської доби, через контакти із степовими
In terms of the number of weapons the Ust-Alma
necropolis stands out among the Late Scythian sites of
the Crimea.
The paper deals with burials accompanied by swords
and daggers. Their types, quantity and chronology are
defined in the paper. The main role of the bladed weapons
in the funeral rite played its functional purpose but
besides this it could have the sacred meaning or play
the role of the social indicator in the military elite, female
and children burials. The analysis of the burial
assemblages showed that the large role in the burial
rite of the Ust-Alma necropolis was played by bladed
weapons.
From the mid-1st century AD. the number of bladed
weapons in the burial assemblages of Ust-Alma necropolis
increased. In the 1st century AD. Chersonesos and
most of the Crimea (including the Late Scythian state)
were controlled by the Bosporan kingdom. Crimean
Scythia participated in the Roman-Bosporan war as
the ally of Bosporus. In the 2nd century AD. the military
actions of the Bosporan army also took place on
the territory of the Crimean Scythia. This phenomena
was reflected in the funeral rite.
In the first centuries AD. the traditions of the funeral
rite characteristic for the Sarmatian Age population
of the steppe regions of Northern Pontic area
and the Volga region have appeared at the necropolis.
This was reflected in a number of single but special
features of the rite. In addition, there are changes in
the ethnic and social structures of the population of the
Ust-Alma Late Scythian settlement. Together with the
public elite, the military one had formed whom graves
are distinguished by rich grave goods (precious metal,
bronze dishes, amphorae, horse bridle).
The funeral rite of the Ust-Alma necropolis has many
similarities with the funeral rite of the Sarmatians in
the Don and Kuban regions and the Asian Bosporus.
