Jewellery from Burial 2 Kurgan 1 Filippovka 1 Cemetery: Manufacturing Techniques, Purpose and Semantics of Images

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the publication of the unique jewelry which was found in the untouched noble female’s grave-pit of the Early Sarmatian elite burial ground located at Southern Urals. It stands out with an unordinary complicated construction, polychrome style, a variety of materials and techniques used in its manufacture, central disc containing cloisonne artwork. Analysis of the item’s burial context convincingly showed this item was not worn as a decoration in social life, but it was the precious relic used in religious ceremonies and ritual practices for short periods of time. A detailed study of manufacturing technology allows us to reconstruct the fastening ways and application methods for this jewelry. The search of analogies for images placed on the central medallion, made it possible to clarify its compositional semantics. Its central character is the sacred tree, guarded by the divine power of “khvarenah” deity. “Khvarenah” is presented by two guises - the winged sun disc and the sacred Veraghna birds. General meaning of the ritual reflects the idea of increasing fertility: ensuring the well-being and increasing offspring numbers, health, wealth and prosperity of the family. New Assyrian compositional scheme used in the medallion. It appeared at the beginning of the IX century BC and actively spread in Urartu and pre-Achaemenid Media since the VIII-VII centuries BC. This relic was found in the early nomadic burial site dating back to the IV century BC. All these show the significant continuity of ancient Iranian religious cults. They continue to exist in the satrapies of Achaemenid Iran, they are perceived by the elite of the Sarmatian tribes of the Southern Urals and they spread in a nomadic environment.