Late Sarmatian burials of the Mamay burial ground (West Kazakhstan)

Abstract

The article presents the materials of Late Sarmatian burials studied in the Mamay burial ground of different times. In total, nine burial mounds containing 19 burials were examined at the site, the material of which is represented by a wide chronological range from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages. Of this number, five burials belong to the Late Sarmatian period. They are united by the fixed uniform norms of the funeral rite and a set of accompanying artifacts and utencils. Thus, the burials were carried out in a rectangular grave pit with a padded recess under the western wall, the head oriented to the northern sector, in an elongated position. The finds are typologically identical vessels of North Caucasian production, weapons, jewelry and fibulae. The latter are a stable chronological indicator that allows dating the complex to the middle – second half of the 3^rd century AD. In general, the burial ground material reflects the influence of two centers of development of Late Sarmatian culture – the Southern Urals and the Lower Volga region. Trade and economic ties gravitated most towards the North Caucasus.