Jewellery of the Martynivka Circle among Materials of Saltiv Culture: Data Analysis

Abstract

In the paper jewellery from sites and complexes of the Saltiv culture, which do not chronologically fit within the boundaries of its existence, is considered. The studied jewellery is typical for the hoards of Martynivka circle (group II, subgroup 1). It is represented by four burial complexes and one hoard. Dmytriivka cemetery was investigated by S. Pletneva. Two trapezoidal pendants ornamented with punched rows of dots on the edge from catacombs no. 151 and no. 154 (fig. 1A: 1). Items from the Khatskivskyi hoard, the Kovrai locality, and three finds from the Luchistoye burial ground are known with such an ornamentation system. In general, such pendants can be dated by the 5th—7th centuries (fig. 1). Sukha Homilsha cemetery 1 was investigated by V. Mikheev. Burial no. 54 contained a vorvorka (fig. 2). Burial date: late 8th—early 9th centuries. Analogies in size are presented in several hoards, in ornamentation — from the settlement of Kryvets 4. In general, these items are typical for the hoards of Martynivka circle, the second half of the 6th— the middle third quarter of the 7th centuries. Bochkove cemetery has been studied by O. Laptev since 2014. Grave no. 2 (fig. 3; 4) contained two trapezoidal pendants ornamented with four spherical protrusions and two rows of pressed dots along the edge (fig. 5; 6). Similar pendants are associated with the Penkivka monuments and hoards of the Martynivka circle. Myrna Dolyna hoard discovered in 2019. The complex includes: 1) blacksmith tools and several iron items (fig. 7: 1—11); 2) four screams (fig. 7: 12—15); 3) fragments of a bronze cauldron and a pair of phaleras (fig. 8); 4) heraldic belt decorations, including matrices and semi-finished products (fig. 9; 10); 5) Roman coins (fig. 11). Only six heraldic decorations (fig. 9: 1-3; 10: 1—3) are known among Slavic antiquities at the level of broad analogies. All the considered sites of the Saltiv culture with finds of jewellery from the Martynivka circle are concentrated in the Siverskyi Donets basin. Both individual finds and treasures are known here. In the upper reaches of the river, monuments of the Kolochyn culture are known, and below — of the Penkivka culture. The chronology of the complexes of the Dmytriivka cemetery and the Myrna Dolyna hoard can be determined within the general framework of the existence of culture. However, the chronology of burial no. 54 of the Sukha Homilsha-1, burial no. 2 of the Bochkove cemetery and the chronology of the Martynivka circle decorations differ by almost a century (table 1). Consequently, such adornments could be found by the inhabitants of the Khazar Khaganate and reused in everyday life or attire.