Bronze cauldrons of the Scythian time are rare in the Northern Black Sea region, especially on its western borders. Therefore, those few items found on the territory of the Republic of Moldova occupy a worthy place in the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM). In particular, in the archaeological exhibition, two bronze cauldrons are displayed, discovered near the village of Nicolscoe in 1988 in burial mounds no. 14 and 15. In addition, in 2020, two bronze cauldrons without any accompanying documents were found in the collection of NMHM; however, they were visually identified as coming from various excavations in the Low Dniester region, such as burial mound no. 45 near Dubăsari and burial mound no. 1 near the Răscăieții Noi village.
The object presented as the exhibit of the month is a little-known find discovered in 1979 in barrow 1 near the village of Răscăieții Noi in the Ștefan Vodă district. In addition to its outstanding size (about 10 m high), this mound is known for discovering a cast bronze finial in the Scythian animal style on its surface in 1953. However, by the beginning of excavations, the locals had damaged part of the mound and a Scythian cast bronze cauldron was found near it. The cauldron was seriously damaged by mechanical impact, as a result of which the rim was deformed, and the walls, with one preserved vertical handle, were bent inwards. Fragments in the upper part of the body and one handle have been lost. The total reconstructed height of the cauldron is 24 cm (excluding the handles), the reconstructed diameter of the hemispherical cauldron is 30 cm, and the weight is 6.5 kg. In 2020, data on the chemical composition of the bronze cauldron alloy were obtained, revealing that it was cast from an alloy of almost 95 per cent copper. Unfortunately, due to the loss of information on the context of the discovery of the cauldron at Răscăieții Noi, it is impossible to link its discovery with one or another Scythian burial of the barrow. Moreover, the grave goods of other Scythian burials of Barrow 1 do not allow them to date below the 4th century BC. However, the cauldron with vertical handles from Răscăieții Noi most likely belongs earlier. This may be indicated by a bronze finial from the first half of the 5th century BC, which was found on this barrow in 1953. In addition, burial 7 from the nearest excavated barrow 2 at Răscăieții Noi, containing a plaque depicting a rolled predator (a copy of which is also on display at the NMHM), belongs to the mid- 5th century BC. Thus, there is a high probability that the cauldron from Barrow 1 at Răscăieții Noi is associated with the late Middle Scythian period or the mid-5th century BC.
Scythian bronze cauldrons in the west area are concentrated in three main regions: Bukovina-Podolia, the Lower Danube, and the Lower Dniester. Some Scythian cauldrons have no reliable archaeological context. Nevertheless, in combination with the same "stray" finds like the Scythian statues, the finds of Scythian cauldrons mark the Scythian presence, most likely not earlier than the late 6th century or even the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC. The cauldrons first appeared in Bukovina, where they have been known since the middle of the 7th century BC. Bronze cauldrons (with their carriers) entered the steppe region 150-200 years later, and the "military" burials that appeared in the western steppe regions were no earlier than the middle of the 5th century BC. Most burials with cauldrons (and, apparently, the stray finds) are dated back to the second half of the 5th century BC. Then, in the early 4th century BC, their quantity was reduced, and after the first quarter of the 4th century BC, they completely disappeared from the cultural practice of the population of the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea region.
Bowls from the Scythian burial sites of the late 4th - 2nd century BC on the left bank of the Lower Dniester
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
In the article there are published and analyzed bowls from the Scythian burial complexes of the cemetery near the village of Glinoe (Hlinaia) and from some barrows of the late 4th - 2nd century BC on the left bank of the Lower Dniester, near Tiraspol. The research reveals widest spreading of the bowls in the funerary practice of Scythians on this bank of the Dniester. Their role and place in the funeral rite are assessed. There are examined wooden and ceramic bowls. The authors offer a typology for hand- shaped bowls, which takes into account all their morphological features. Particular attention is paid to the decoration of the hand-made bowls, which primarily reflects the Thracian ceramic tradition. The analysis of spreading of the bowls in the settlements and burial mounds of the Scythians on the Northern Black Sea littoral testifi es the sedentarization of the Scythian population in the Lower Dniester in the 3rd - 2nd centuries BC.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Iron details of the wooden bowls (1-6) and pottery bowls (7, 8) from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 -burial 18/1; 2 - burial 46/3; 3 - burial 59/1; 4 - burial 69/2; 5 - burial 80/1; 6 - burial 83/1; 7 - burial 21/1; 8 - burial 85/1. Fig. 2. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 2/3; 2 - burial 3/1; 3 - burial 7/1; 4, 5 - burial 8/1; 6 - burial 10/1; 7 - burial 11/1; 8 - burial 13/1. Fig. 3. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 13/3; 2 - burial 14/2; 3 - burial 15/1; 4 - burial 15/2; 5 - burial 17/1; 6 - burial 19/1; 7 - burial 19/3; 8 - burial 20/1; 9, 10 - burial 22/2; 11 - burial 22/3. Fig. 4. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 23/1; 2, 3 - burial 26/1; 4 - burial 27/1; 5 - burial 30/1; 6 - burial 33/2; 7 - burial 36/1; 8, 9 - burial 38/1. Fig. 5. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 38/3; 2 - burial 39/1; 3 - burial 41/2; 4 - burial 42/1; 5 - burial 43/2; 6 - burial 45/1; 7, 8 - burial 46/4; 9 - burial 47/1. Fig. 6. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 48/1; 2 - burial 49/1; 3 - burial 50/1; 4, 5 - burial 52/1; 6 - burial 55/1; 7 - burial 56/1; 8, 9 - burial 56/2; 10, 11 - burial 57/1. Fig. 7. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 60/1; 2 - burial 60/2; 3 - burial 62/1; 4, 5 - burial 64/1; 6 - burial 65/1; 7 - burial 67/4; 8 - burial 68/1; 9 - burial 74/2; 10 - burial 75/2; 11 - burial 76/1; 12 - burial 77/1; 13 - burial 78/3; 14 - burial 81/1; 15 - burial 81/3. Fig. 8. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 82/1; 2 - burial 86/1; 3 - burial 87/1; 4 - burial 88/1; 5 - burial 89/1; 6 - burial 91/2. Fig. 9. Hand- shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 93/1; 2 - burial 93/2; 3 - burial 94/1; 4 - burial 95/1; 5 - burial 96/1; 6 - burial 96/2; 7 - burial 99/1; 8 - burial 101/2; 9 - grave goods form the barrow №102; 10 - burial 102/3. Fig. 10. Hand-shaped bowls from the Glinoe cemetery: 1 - burial 103/1; 2 - burial 104/1; 3, 4 - burial 105/2; 5 - ditch of the barrow no. 106; 6 - burial 106/1; 7 - burial 107/3; 8 - burial 109/1; 9 - burial 113/1; 10 - burial 114/1; 11 - ditch of the barrow no. 115; 12 - burial 115/1. Fig. 11. Hand-shaped bowls from the Scythian barrows near Tiraspol: 1 - barrow no. 275 near the Glinoe village; 2 - barrow no. 131 near the Parcani village; 3 - barrow no. 154 near the Parcani village; 4 - barrow no. 174 near the Parcani village; 5 - barrow no. 282 near the Cioburciu village; 6 - barrow no. 288 near the Cioburciu village; 7 - barrow no. 402 near the Cioburciu village; 8 - barrow no. 405 near the Cioburciu village; 9 - barrow no. 408 near Cioburciu (all after Мелюкова 1962). Fig. 12. Typology of the hand-shaped bowls. Fig. 13. The types of rim ornamentation of the hand-shaped bowls of the late 4th - 2nd century BC from the Scythian graves on the Dniester bank: 1-3 - raised edges on a horizontal surface of the rims; 4-11 - lugs-festoons on the lateral side of the rims. Fig. 14. Tamgha on the bottom of the hand-shaped bowl form the burial 81/3 of the Scythian cemetery near the Glinoe village.
Николай Тельнов, Виталий Синика
The Getae burial on the left bank of the Dniester and some problems of the Thracian burial practice
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Bronze cauldrons of the Scythian time are rare in the Northern Black Sea region, especially on its western borders. Therefore, those few items found on the territory of the Republic of Moldova occupy a worthy place in the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM)...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
