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.
Dwellings of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers (analysis, typology and comparative analysis)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
The paper attempts to make a detailed analysis of residential structures of the population relating to the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers. Vestiges of dwellings were found on 23 unfortified settlements (Belino, Bol'shaya Andrusovka I, Bol'shaya Snytonka IV, Vishenka II, Voroshilov, Galitsa II, Gromy V, Dnestrovka, Zhvanets, Kanev, Kanev IV, Kreshchatik, Lenkovtsy, Luka-Vrublevetskaya, Makeyevka, Man'kovka X, Mikhalkiv I, Molodetskoye X, Molodovo, Neporotovo, Pikivets VI, Sokilets, Uman XX) and 12 fortified settlements (Adamovka, Bogdanovka I, Grigorovka, Zalevki I, Ivanovka, Kalantayevo, Lubentsy, Nemirovo, Novo-Georgievsk, Rudkovtsy, Subbotovo, Tyasminka) (fi g. 1). All the sites, except the Early Chernoles settlements of Bol'shaya Andrusovka I, Bol'shaya Snytonka IV and Mikhalkiv I, as well as the lower layer of the Subbotovo settlement, were associated with the late stage of the Chernoles culture. In all on the sites of the Early Chernoles culture there were found 17 semi-dugouts and one dugout. On settlements of the late stage 70 surface dwellings, 10 semi-dugouts and 11 dugouts were identified.
Thus, based on available data a classifi cation of 109 residential structures has been proposed. During the early period of Chernoles culture they practiced construction of semi-dugouts and dugouts (fi g. 4). At a later stage of the Chernoles culture they constructed mainly dwellings on the ground surface, and to a lesser extent semi-dugouts and dugouts (fi g. 5-7).
In general, the analysis provided an opportunity to compare dwellings referring to the early and the late periods of the Chernoles culture based on such data as the location of dwellings, their shapes, sizes, designs and interior condition. The main result is an identifi cation of common and distinctive features in the construction of houses of the Chernoles culture bearers.
For the early stage of the Chernoles culture there were determined seven characteristic features in the construction of residential structures: 1) dwellings arranged in a row; 2) semi-dugouts were the leading type of structures; 3) residential structures were of rectangular or square shape; 4) dwellings feature is that the walls are lined with wooden planks or logs; 5) dwellings were equipped with heating facilities or those were absent; 6) there were found pits along with the hearths; 7) inside the buildings clay elevations were identified.
In the course of studying dwellings of the late stage of the Chernoles culture there were revealed nine characteristic features: 1) houses were located in one, two or three rows; 2) ground constructions should be considered the main type of housing; 3) all types of dwellings equally had rounded or rectangular shapes; 4) ground dwellings with frame-and-pillar or stone wall construction on a stone foundation; 5) walls of the dugouts are lined with wooden planks or logs; 6) almost all ground dwellings have heating facilities, along with the pits (in some semi-dugouts and dugouts, unlike the ground dwellings, the heating facilities were absent); 7) all types of dwellings, except dugouts, have household pits; 8) construction of ground dwellings and dugouts indicate that some of them had the stairs; 9) in semi dugouts there were found subsoil shelves-benches, and in ground dwellings there were clay elevations of rounded shapes.
In general, the comparative analysis of dwellings made it possible to trace the major stages in the development of homebuilding at the Chernoles population and revealed similarities and differences between dwellings belonging to the early and the late periods of the Chernoles culture. On the other hand a weak source base (no publications) leaves unresolved a number of topical issues. Nevertheless, the importance of research lies in the fact that the dwellings as an important category of archaeological sources allow to study various aspects of life of the Chernoles population.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Map of distribution of dwellings of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers (1 - Adamovka; 2 - Belino; 3 - Bogdanovka I; 4 - Bol'shaya Andrusovka I; 5 - Bol'shaya Snytonka IV; 6 - Vishenka II; 7 - Voroshilov; 8 - Galitsa II; 9 - Grigorovka; 10 - Gromy V; 11 - Dnestrovka; 12 - Zhvanets; 13 - Zalevki I; 14 - Ivanovka; 15 - Kalantayevo; 16 - Kanev; 17 - Kanev IV; 18 - Kreshchatik; 19 - Lenkovtsy; 20 - Lubentsy; 21 - Luka-Vrublevetskaya; 22 - Makeyevka; 23 - Man'kovka X; 24 - Mikhalkiv I; 25 - Molodetskoye X; 26 - Molodovo; 27 - Nemirovo; 28 - Neporotovo; 29 - Novo-Georgievsk; 30 - Pikivets VI; 31 - Rudkovtsy; 32 - Sokilets; 33 - Subbotovo; 34 - Tyasminka; 35 - Uman XX). Fig. 2. General plans and sections of dwellings of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers (1, 8 - Nemirovo (after Смирнова 1998); 2 - Bol'shaya Andrusovka I (after Покровська, Петровська 1961); 3-5 - Vishenka II (after Бойко 2004); 6, 7 - Dnestrovka (after Смирнова 1984). Fig. 3. Remains of a hearth (1), general plans and sections of dwellings (2-6), remains of a stone structure of dwelling (7) from the sites of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers (1 - Luka-Vrublevetskaya (after Шовкопляс 1956); 2 - Tyasminka (after Максимов, Петровская 1959); 3-5 - Subbotov (after Тереножкин 1961); 6, 7 - Neporotovo (after Крушельницька 1985). Fig. 4. Typology of dwellings of the early stage of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers. Fig. 5. Typology of ground dwellings of the late stage of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers. Fig. 6. Typology of semi-dugouts of the late stage of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers. Fig. 7. Typology of dugouts of the late stage of the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers.
Сергей Фидельский
Burial of the Early Iron Age near Slobodzeja at the lower bottom of the river Dniester
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Сергей Фидельский
New materials of the Iron Age in the Middle Dniester left-bank region
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIV [XXIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică, Chişinău, 2020
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
