The Meotian ethnic group existed for at least 1200 years. During its existence, the steppe was replaced by two large nomadic cultures - Scythian and Sarmatian. The militarized nature of Meotian culture was determined by the constant military threat from Iranian-speaking nomads. Meotian settlements gradually occupy significant territories on the right bank of the Kuban, along the eastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov, and even cross the mouth of the Don in a westerly direction. For many centuries, Meotian settlements existed in open steppe and forest-steppe areas of the Kuban-Don plain.

The Meotian country was a military-politically powerful ethno-territorial association of related tribes. In this regard, “Meotia” reminds us of later Circassia: 1) ethnic and cultural unity in the absence of a single state; 2) “Meotia” appears as an allied association of independent territories-principals, each of which contained a sub-ethnic division: Sinds, Torets, Doskhs, Dandarii, Fatei, Psessians, Obidiakeni, Sittakeni, Konapseni and other groups, one might assume, aware of their unity of the Meotian ethnic group; 3) like Circassia, “Meotia” is a center of military and equestrian culture with a high level of development of weapons and horse breeding; 4) like Circassia, “Meotia” is the most populous country in the North Caucasus, occupying the same borders as Circassia in the Interian era: from the mouth of the Don to Abkhazia (the northern part of Colchis); 5) like the Circassians, the Meotians are actively developing neighboring (and sometimes remote) regions that are advantageous in geopolitical and landscape terms: Eastern Crimea, Lower Don region, Kabarda, Middle Dnieper region, Colchis; 6) as in Zikhia-Circassia XIII - XVIII centuries. in the country of the Meotians, commercial production agriculture is developing; 8) the nature of the relationship between the Greeks and the Meotians is exactly the same as that of the Genoese with the Circassians - the similarity is such that it even gave rise to the same historiographical clichés.

Formation of Meotian culture in the Kuban River basin.VIII – VII centuries BC e.

Early Iron Age – VIII – VII centuries. BC. – on the territory of the North-Western Caucasus coincides with the stage of formation of a single Meotian culture.

V. A. Trifonov, the author of one of the most thorough studies of the dolmen culture of the Western Caucasus, notes the continuity of the Proto-Meotian culture in relation to the dolmen culture1.

Research by V.R. Erlich clearly demonstrates to us the area of ​​the Proto-Meotian culture in the Trans-Kuban region: burial grounds and settlements have been recorded in the foothill and mountain zones, along the entire course of the Laba, Belaya, Pshekha, Pshisha, Psekups, Abin and along the coast from the Taman Peninsula to Tuapse. See map compiled by V.R. Erlich.

Map of the main monuments of the Proto-Meotian culture of the North-Western Caucasus of the 7th–6th centuries. BC e. I – monuments of the Primorye-Abinsk local variant; II – monuments of the central variant; III – monuments of the foothill variant.
1 - Novonikolayevsky II, 2 - Bryukhovetskaya, 3 - Baturinskaya, 4 - Anapa, 5 - Pervomaisky, 6 - Patrey, 7 - Shum-river, 8 - Sukko, 9 - Semibratneye ancient settlement, 10 - Bolshie Khutora, 11 - Abrau-Durso , 12 - Shirokaya Balka, 13 - Sheskharis, 14 - st. Krymskaya (Krymsk), 15 - Gelendzhik, 16 - Gelendzhi dolmens, 17 - r. Aderby, 18 - Psybe, 19-Gruzinka VII, 20 - art. Shapsugskaya, 21 - outskirts of Abinsk, 22 - Abinsky, 23 - Yastrebovsky, 24 - Mingrelsky, 25 - Tseplievsky Kut, 26 - Chernoklen, 27 - Kholmsky, 28 - Akhtyrsky Liman, 29 - Art. Ilskaya, 30 - hut. Lenina, 31 - Kazovo III, 32 - Psekupsky, 33 - Nacherziy, 34 - Leninokhabl, 35 - pos. Tauykhabl, 36 - k.m. Chishkho, 37 - Belyaevsky, 38 - Pshish I, 39 - Krasnogvardeyskoye II, 40 - Nikolaevsky grave, 41 - Ust-Labinsky mound, 42 - Kuban village, 43 - Kubansky grave, 44 - hut. Zubovsky, 45 - Ulyapskoe village, 46 - Ulyap village, 47 - hut. Dukmasov, 48 - hut. Chernyshov, 49 - Sereginskoye village, 50 - Uashkhitu I, 51 - Guamsky Grotto, 52 - Art. Dagestanskaya, 53 - st. Tverskaya, 54 - Kurdzhipskoe village, 55 - Kochipe, 56 - Khanskaya, 57 - Maykop, 58 - Abadzekhskaya, 59 - Khadzhokh, 60 - Kamennomostsky, 61 - Makhoshevskaya, 62 - Fars, 63 - Treasures, 64 - Yasenovaya Polyana, 65 - Elite, 66 - Art. Besleneevskaya, 67 - Kaladzhinskoye village, 68 - Akhmetovskoye village, 69 - lake. Maryinskoye, 70 - p. Blagodnoye, 71 - Tuapse, 72 - Nekrasovskaya

As we can see, the area of ​​the Proto-Meotian culture exactly coincides with the area in which such cultures as Maikop, Dolmen, as well as the already historically well-described ethnocultural and political associations - Zikhia (VI - XII) and Circassia ( XIII – XVIII) centuries. Thus, the area of ​​the Proto-Meotian culture is a typical area of ​​the autochthonous culture of the North-West Caucasus, fully included in the 6-thousand-year process of ethnic history of the North-West. Caucasus and, accordingly, in the process, first of all, of Adyghe ethnogenesis.

Narrative sources about the Maeotians

Written mentions of the Meotians begin in the 6th century. BC, and the last reports about the Meotian people date back to the 6th century. n. e.

Strabo (63 BC - 23 AD) noted that the Sindians were also among the Maeotians, and the subethnic composition of the Maeotians is represented by the following list: “The Maeotians include the Sindians themselves and the Dandarii, the Toreates , agras and arrechs, as well as tarpets, obidiakens, sittakens, boards and some others. These include the Aspurgians, who live in a space of 500 stadia between Phanagoria and Gorgippia.”2

About the belligerence of the Maeotians: “After all, along this entire coast (the eastern coast of Maeotis - Note by S.Kh.) there are Maeotians; although they are engaged in agriculture, they are no less warlike than the nomads.” Strabo’s remark that the Maeotians “split into several tribes” and that those who live near Tanais “are distinguished by greater savagery, and those who border the Bosporus are more civilized” seems important.

One of the leading European cartographers of the last third of the 16th century. Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598) created several outstanding reconstructions of the ethnopolitical state of ancient space.

Ortelius's reconstruction contains all the main ethnonyms mentioned in ancient sources when describing the Black Sea basin: between the Kuban and the Don the Maeotae, Sindians, Achaeans, Kerkets, Sanigians, Epagerites, Heniokhs, Conapseni, Arikhs, Aspurgians, Bosporans and Ave. On the western side of Maeotis, the Maeotae, Iazyges, and the second Sendica are noted.

Meotians and nomads: the nature of political and cultural relations

V.R. Ehrlich notes the very long-standing nature of the cultural influence of the Meotians on the nomads - primarily in such industries as metalworking, the manufacture of weapons and equestrian ammunition.

Even in pre-Scythian times, the Proto-Meotian population of the North-Western Caucasus “supplied the nomads with metal bridles and weapons... Elite complexes with North Caucasian, including Proto-Meotian horseman and chariot sets, appearing everywhere in the steppe and forest-steppe of the south of Eastern Europe... give us reason to believe that in In this case, we are dealing with military expansion from the territory of Ciscaucasia, including from the area of ​​the Proto-Meotian group of monuments”4.

A well-known specialist on the early Iron Age, K. Metzner-Nebelsik, suggests that behind a series of prestigious Meotian objects in Central Europe lies the constant need of the population of this region for horses, which were delivered through exchange from the area of ​​the Meotian culture5.

Ortelius Abraham. Pont Euxine. 1590 Reconstruction of the ethnic and political map of the Black Sea basin based on ancient sources. Abrahami Ortelii. Pontvs Euxinvs. Van den Keere, Pieter (1571–1646). Graveur. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Collection d'Anville. 38 × 49 cm.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Abrahami_Ortelii._Pontvs_Euxinvs_%2817th_century%29.jpg?uselang=ru

As noted above, Meotian settlements occupied the entire space of Interian Circassia in 1500 - from the mouth of the Don to the Black Sea.

V.R. Ehrlich traces typical Meotian ritual complexes in the western regions of Colchis (in the territory of modern Abkhazia) in the 4th century. BC: “The discovery of a Meotian sanctuary in Abkhazia in the city of Ochamchira, on the territory of ancient Guenos, is extremely interesting. Perhaps this is material evidence of penetration unknown from written sources in the second half of the 4th century. BC. population from Transkuban to Transcaucasia. The eastern hill of this settlement, the lower layers of which date back to the 6th–5th centuries. BC, in the 4th century. ceases to exist. The latest complexes here are burials of horse skulls with a bridle of the Kuban appearance... The bridle accompanying the complexes finds close analogies in the Ulyapsky, Elizabethan, Tenginsky and Voronezh mounds. And the ritual itself, which consists of burying horse skulls with a bridle, finds parallels in a series of Meotian sanctuaries of the 4th century. BC. – Ulyapsky, Tenginsky, Voronezh, Goverdovsky... In this case, the very fact of the construction of a Meotian sanctuary in a settlement layer, life on which had already ceased at that time, is interesting. It is possible that it stopped not without the help of the Meotian horsemen who appeared here and performed a sacrifice.”6

The Meotian tribal union was formed in the Northwestern Caucasus long before the appearance of the Scythians in the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region; it not only outlived the Scythians, but grew territorially throughout the Scythian era. Then, in such a prosperous state, the Meotians met the Sarmatian invasion, managed to resist it in the vast flat area from the Don to the Kuban and also survived Sarmatia.

For the very first groups of Sauromatians, their contacts with the Maeotian tribes were already of utmost importance7. The eastern regions of Upper Meotia were occupied by the Sarmatian tribe of Siracs, archaeological traces of which clearly indicate the process of Meotization of nomads8.

We can assume that Meoto-Sarmatian relations were predominantly peaceful. The Meotians could quite consciously go to the extent of allowing nomads to settle near their settlements, who became a kind of buffer between them and other Sarmatian tribes that roamed the Don and Volga regions. The existence of such an adaptive layer in the form of siraks made it possible to quickly respond to the threat of sudden Sarmatian raids. In that case, of course, if any took place. In the Circassian era, in the same way, the Nogai settlement was the first to take on attacks from distant regions of the steppe. The Kalmyk threat, which emerged in the mid-17th century, prompted the Nogais, Crimean Tatars and Circassians to create a defensive alliance that lasted for more than a century, until Ubashi Khan took most of his people to China in 1771.

In 49 AD The Siracians receive a severe blow from the Romans and almost completely disappear from the steppes between the Kuban and Don. I.I. Marchenko recorded a total of 13 Sirak graves of the 1st–3rd centuries. AD9.

It is likely that the migration of the Sarmatians from the Meotian region had a negative impact on the security system of the settled population. Unexpected attacks by large masses of nomads, and not only from the circle of Sarmatian-Alan tribes, became possible. Attacks on wealthy Meotian farmers could have been organized by the ancient German tribes of the Goths, who captured the Northern Black Sea region (conventionally, European Sarmatia) and from there threatened the Bosporan kingdom and the population of the North-Western Caucasus.

The question of who acted as the gravedigger of Meotian prosperity on the plain between the Kuban and Don remains open. But the assumption that it could be the Goths who annexed Crimea, plundered Panticapaeum and carried out real terror on Bosporan ships not only in the Black Sea basin, but also in the Aegean Sea, looks quite realistic.

The area of ​​concentration of Gothic tribes near Meotida and their campaigns in the 3rd century.
From the book: Budanova V.P. Goths in the era of the Great Migration. P. 81.

V.P. Budanova notes that the placement of the Goths dates back to the 3rd century. in the Maeotis region is confirmed by contemporary Roman reports. Thus, “in the biography of Emperor Aurelian (270 – 275) we read that Emperor Claudius (268 – 270) entrusted Aurelian with conducting “the entire war against the Maeotians” (omne contra Maeotidas bellum). It is known that Claudius led military operations against a coalition of tribes, which included the Goths. The name of the latter “Meotami” means that these tribes came from Maeotis”11.

Researchers of early Gothic history in the Black Sea region are quite unanimous in localizing the area of ​​their initial settlement in the Western Azov region. Thus, the Goths could not help but come into close contact with the Maeotians, and their relationship could be both hostile and allied.

Over the centuries, the Meotian region has developed rapidly and reached the level of the emergence of cities. Thus, using the example of only the Ust-Labinsk group, which included 30 settlements explored in 1989, I.S. Kamenetsky convincingly shows demographic growth throughout the late Meotian period (second half of the 1st century BC - 3rd century AD): “The first thing that catches your eye is the amazing density of buildings on the right bank of the Kuban. The settlements go one after another, separated by small intervals. This applies not only to old fortifications, which could have come together as a result of growth, especially intense during the period under review, but also to newly emerging fortifications... Some previously separate fortifications apparently merged at this time, forming huge settlements with two “citadels”... All The right bank settlements cease to exist, judging by the recovered material, at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. AD By this time, their total area reaches a huge figure of 1,237,797 square meters. m. (without taking into account the destruction that occurred). If we proceed from the building density described above for the Podazovsky settlement, and take five people as the average family size, we get the number of people living simultaneously - about 62 thousand people. On the left bank, in the triangle between Kuban and Laba, the territory was limited and this affected the size of the settlements: their preserved area is 181,726 sq.m., which gives a population of about 10 thousand people. The data presented are minimal, since they do not take into account not only the destruction, but also the settlements on the left bank of the Laba, which may have been part of the same association, but so far there is no accurate data about them.”12

"Golden Cemetery"

Kurgan necropolises of the nearest Kuban region during the 1st century. BC e. – II century n. e. are aristocratic burials with a very impressive set of grave goods. In the literature, this set of monuments received the code name “Golden Cemetery”. Due to the general tendency of researchers to underestimate the level of development of Meotian culture and the tendency to interpret the slightest specificity as a consequence of nomadic influence, ZK began to be attributed to the Sarmatians.

In the specialized literature, the point of view has been repeatedly expressed about the Meotian affiliation of this group of burials. This point of view is very thoroughly presented in the posthumous monograph of Maya Pavlovna Abramova, (1931–2003) one of the most prominent Russian archaeologists, who had experience in understanding this problem for about 40 years (dissertation on the topic “Culture of the Sarmatian tribes of the Volga-Dnieper steppes of the 2nd century BC – 1st century AD” was protected in 1962)13.

Since 1968 M.P. Abramova was in a state of discussion with K.F. Smirnov, V.B. Vinogradov and other staunch supporters of the Sarmatian origin of the catacomb rite in the North Caucasus14.

Abramova’s point of view is all the more important because it was formulated, from a formal and essential point of view, by a professional sarmatologist, a specialist who devoted his entire scientific biography to the development of scientific ideas about the Sarmatians. Moreover, Abramova headed the Sarmatian archeology sector at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nevertheless, from publication to publication Abramova clearly defended her opinion about the Meotian affiliation of the burial mounds of the Kuban region.

The beginning of the study of the mounds of the Meotian country in 1896 - 1903. put N.I. Veselovsky. On the territory of the right bank of the Middle Kuban, he examined a mass of extensive burial mounds. The mound fields began in the west near the village of Voronezhskaya and stretched in a continuous, but rather narrow strip upstream (i.e. to the east) more than 70 versts to the village of Kazanskaya. The mounds do not move away from the shore towards the steppe. Part of this mound group was discovered by Veselovsky in Transkuban region near the village of Nekrasovskaya (the right bank of the Laba in the lower reaches), where he recorded about 10 mounds with traces of ancient robbery. The vast majority (87 out of 103 excavated mounds) at a distance from Voronezh to Kazan contained burials in catacombs. It is important to note that these burials in the catacombs were in the nature of main burials. By main we mean those burials for which the mound was built. Whether the burial is the main one or whether it is indirect (i.e. made in the mound of an already existing mound) is very important to take into account when analyzing the question of the origin of the culture.

This territory of the mounds was called the Veselovsky “Golden Cemetery” (hereinafter ZK): a huge amount of gold objects were discovered in the burials, which testified to the wealth and special status of the persons buried in the catacombs.

ZK is a standard monument of North-West Kazakhstan, demonstrating the level of culture of its population, as well as its military power. In the catacombs of the ZK, heavily armed horsemen were buried - the elite of the Maeotian cavalry of this period, the weapons of which, in their technical characteristics, significantly exceeded not only the military communities of the rest of the Caucasus, but also the vast Sarmatian world.

The second group of mounds, located in the Trans-Kuban region, after Veselovsky, began to be considered separately from the ZK. Historian of the Scythian-Sarmatian era M.I. Rostovtsev called this group “Zubovskaya” (after the name of the Zubov village on the Zelenchuk 2nd (or Ters) river, a tributary of the Kuban (not to be confused with the Bolshoi and Maly Zelenchuks in the extreme, eastern sector of Transkuban), in the area of ​​which these monuments are located), attributing her by the 1st century. BC. – I century AD Rostovtsev believed that the mounds of the ZK and Zubov group were abandoned by the Sarmatian population.

K.F. Smirnov gave the Trans-Kuban mounds the name “Zubovsko-Vozdvizhenskaya group” (hereinafter referred to as ZVG), since similar mounds were also recorded near the village of Vozdvizhenskaya on the lower Labe, opposite the mouth of Fars. In modern Russian archaeological literature, this definition has received universal recognition. Like Rostovtsev, Smirnov classified both ZK and ZVG as Sarmatian monuments.

Outstanding researcher of Meotian culture N.V. Anfimov consistently defended the point of view according to which these mounds are part of the Meotian culture. I.S. shared the same opinion. Kamenetsky, also a major specialist in Meotian archaeology.

The burials of the ZVG are localized between Laba and Kuban and, if previously it was believed that they were of a single, scattered nature, then as they were discovered and studied, it became clear that they also had the character of group accumulations near the Meotian settlements. The shape of the burial is a rectangular pit. In a number of cases, traces of wooden floors and pillars were noted, i.e. We are talking about the original Meotian (from the time of the Proto-Meotian culture) tradition of constructing wooden structures over a burial place. In the study by L.K. Galanina, dedicated to the Kelermes mounds, repeatedly emphasizes the need to discover grave wooden structures as an obvious sign of an autochthonous culture.

The construction of tent coverings over graves as a stable Meotian tradition is also noted by the outstanding Russian archaeologist B.N. Grakov. The ZVG mounds are characterized by another Meotian feature - the construction of ritual (sacrificial-memorial) sites in the mound embankment. At these sites, valuable things are found in significant quantities, including specifically Meotian objects - cult rods stuck vertically into the ground.

M.P. Abramova emphasizes that “the presence of wooden ceilings and pillar structures is undoubtedly a local feature for the monuments of the Kuban region and Taman, since they were widespread in the funeral rites of the Sinds and Meots.” The ZVG monuments, notes Abramova, “have local roots.”

There is no doubt that the burial mounds of the ZVG belonged to the military nobility: weapons are represented by helmets, shells, spears, swords and arrows, and details of horse gear are also superbly presented - bits, cheekpieces, phalares, etc. Warriors in these mounds were buried directly in the shell or they laid the armor nearby. In addition, horse shells were discovered.

The difference from the Meotians is the absence of horse burials. The presence of such is a stable sign of the Meotian affiliation of the burial, while this custom was not typical for the Sarmatians.

This is a very interesting difference: it turns out that the settled agricultural population buried with horses (since the time of the Proto-Meotian period, i.e. from the 8th - 7th centuries BC), and the nomads, with very rare exceptions, did not have such a ritual . The predecessors of the Sarmatians, the Scythians, were also far behind the Meotians in this regard.

Abundant horse sacrifices among the Meotians indicate developed horse breeding, the existence of a powerful horse breeding industry, and large herds. Horses were a strategic resource for the Maeotians and, apparently, an important source of export income. The gift of horses was an important factor in establishing good neighborly and allied relations.

Among the mass of valuable finds in the grave goods of the ZVG there is a series of prestigious objects, “which are typical only for the territory of the Kuban region: brooches-brooches, glass canfares, iron rods and tripod-lamps.” Each of these items speaks of a connection with Maeotian culture.

Among several hundred burial mounds, ZK Veselovsky excavated 103. Of these, according to Abramova, 18 were T-shaped catacombs (type I), when the chamber itself is located perpendicular to the entrance pit; 69 mounds contained type II catacombs, when both the chamber and the entrance pit are located on the same axis or with some deviations.

The vast majority of the ZK mounds are located on the right bank, but a small group - about 10 objects - in Transkuban (near Nekrasovskaya station, on the right bank of the Laba, a few kilometers from the mouth). In 1977 – 1978 Krasnodar archaeologist A.M. Zhdanovsky examined another 17 mounds in the main ZK cluster and the data from his research are completely identical to Veselovsky’s data, but with modern careful excavation techniques they provided us with a lot of valuable additional information.

In the catacombs of type I (T-shaped) there is no parting food, which is one of the important differences between the ZK and the Sarmatian burials of the Volga region. But no horse burials were found in the type I catacombs either. Characteristic features include wooden (boards or logs) chamber foundations and rarer mud brick partitions. These catacombs date back to the second half of the 1st – 2nd centuries. n. e. All objects of type I are main burials.

Likewise, 68 of the 69 Type II catacombs are primary burials. As in the Type I catacombs, there are no traces of meat food. But in 5 catacombs traces of horse burials were found in the entrance pits. 4 coffin burials were noted. The foundations are wooden, made of mud brick and, in one case, of a round stone slab. Of the 17 catacombs excavated by Zhdanovsky, horse burials were recorded in 6 mounds (also in the entrance pits). Together with 5 horse burials from Veselovsky’s excavations, this already produces a fairly large figure. If the share of burials with a horse burial in Veselovsky is 7.8%, then in Zhdanovsky’s materials it is 46.2% (6 out of 13 catacombs). Abramova is inclined to believe that Veselovsky’s relatively low figure is explained by “the complete looting of many catacombs and insufficient recording during N.I.’s excavations. Veselovsky".

It is safe to assume that Meotian ground T-shaped crypts are the basis on which the burial ritual in T-shaped crypt-catacombs under the mounds developed. A catacomb as a type of burial structure is a crypt, and these two terms can be used interchangeably.

A dolmen is the oldest type of crypt. Let us remember here the Novosvobodnaya dolmens under the burial mounds of the 4th millennium BC. On the Western Caucasian coast, dolmens were erected at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Stone boxes - the second type of crypt - very organically replace the dolmen tradition.

An earthen sub-mound catacomb is nothing more than a type of crypt, which, as a broader concept, can be used for above-ground, underground, stone slab, earthen or mud brick structures. All of these types of crypt are represented in the Meotian funerary tradition.

Among the Meotians, the tradition of building catacombs was established 200 or even 300 years before the appearance of the Sarmatian tribes in the steppes. M.P. Abramova points to the most likely source of the appearance of the ZVG and ZK catacombs - the Meotian funeral tradition. In her 1982 work, Abramova accepted the point of view of N.V. Anfimova about the Meotian affiliation of the ZK and consistently developed it in all her subsequent studies 15 .

In most cases, when we deal with statistics of ordinary Sindo-Maeotian graves, these are ordinary burials in pits. But already in the 3rd century. BC. Among the Sinds in Taman, graves with crypt chambers appear.

During the same period, at the Meotian Ust-Labinsk burial ground, located precisely on the right bank of the Middle Kuban - where, 150–200 years later, the ZK would arise - “cases of the location of later graves under earlier ones were recorded; the presence of vertically standing embedded slabs; placement of horse skeletons next to human ones, but separated from them by a step up to 0.4 m high - all this, according to N.V. Anfimov, speaks of the presence here not only of similar graves, but also of catacombs (crypts) (Anfimov, 1951, p. 169).

Notes:

1. Trifonov V.A. What do we know about the dolmens of the Western Caucasus and what does the history of their study teach us // Dolmens. Witnesses of ancient civilizations. Krasnodar, 2001. pp. 51 – 52.
2. Strabo. Geography / Transl. from ancient Greek G.A. Stratanovsky. M., 1994. Book. XI. § 11. P. 470.
3. Right there. § 4. P. 469.
4. Erlikh V.R. Northwestern Caucasus at the beginning of the Iron Age. Protomeotian group of monuments. M.: Nauka, 2007. P. 189.
5. Right there. P. 192.
6. Erlikh V.R. Sanctuaries of the necropolis of the Tengin settlement of the 2nd–4th centuries. BC. M.: Nauka, 2011. P. 91.
7. Smirnov K.F. Sauromatians: early history and culture of the Sarmatians. M., 1964. P. 127.
8. Anfimov N.V. Ancient gold of Kuban. Krasnodar, 1987. pp. 214 – 222.
9. Marchenko I.I. Shiraki Kuban. Krasnodar, 1996. pp. 90–91.
10. Jordan. About the origin and deeds of the Getae. "Getica". Introductory article, translation, commentary by E.Ch. Skrzhinskaya. St. Petersburg: “Aletheia”, 1997. P. 68.
11. Budanova V.P. Goths in the era of the Great Migration. M.: “Nauka”, 1990. P. 76.
12. Kamenetsky I.S. Meotians and other tribes of the North-West Caucasus in the 7th century BC. e. – III century AD // Steppes of the European part of the USSR in the Scythian-Sarmatian time. M.: “Nauka”, 1989. pp. 244 – 245.
13. Abramova M.P. Kurgan burial grounds of the North Caucasus of the first centuries of our era // North Caucasus and the world of nomads in the early Iron Age: collection. in memory of M. P. Abramova. M.: Institute of Archeology RAS: TAUS, 2007.
14. Savenko S.N. The role of M.P. Abramova in the study of the problems of the early Alanian culture of the Central Ciscaucasia // North Caucasus and the world of nomads. P. 543.
15. Abramova M.P. Kurgan... P. 516.

To be continued in the next issue.

Who are the Meotians, where did they come to the Don? Or maybe they didn’t come at all, but lived here from the beginning? One way or another, but mysterious meots lived on the Don from the end of the last era and the beginning of our era. They lived at about the same time as the Sarmatians. They were either allies or business partners. As scientists suggest, after the defeat of the rebellious settlements of Tanais by the Bosporan king, the warlike Meotians were overpowered here to support the power of the empire.

Homeland of the Meotians.

According to recent studies of the Meota, these are representatives of the sedentary North Caucasian culture. Their homeland is Adygea. It was here that they may have learned to process copper and alloy bronze and iron.What made this region a metal foundry center in ancient times. Meots is a collective name, which is how the Sea of ​​Azov was called in ancient times - Lake Meots. In fact, these were the Doskh, Sind, and Dandari tribes.

There is little dispute about the origin of the Maeotians. Some argue that this culture originates from the Yamnaya culture and is a relict of our region. Others talk about family relationships and tribes of the ancient Hindus. It is possible that two hypotheses are true. Indeed, over a long period of time, Iranian-speaking tribes came to the European steppe and merged with the culture and family ties of the aboriginal tribes.

Religion and mystery.

Like many other developed ancient cultures, mysterious meots had an extensive system of gods. But in most cases they worshiped the forces of nature, animals, and there were gods of crafts. They made sacrifices to their gods. One of the striking examples of a Meotian settlement is the Kobyakov Fortress. According to legend, ancient people worshiped a terrible beast on it, not a wolf or a dog, but a bloodthirsty monster.

Their rituals were complex and meticulously detailed. In addition, they deliberately disfigured, lengthened, stretching the bones of the skull in order to emphasize their advantage and difference from other representatives of humanity. The skulls of young men were wrapped in material and after a while they became elongated.

A striking ritual sign in burials was the presence of a bronze or clay bowl under the head of the deceased.

What did you do.

The Meotian tribes led a sedentary lifestyle. They had highly developed crop and livestock farming, and developed all kinds of crafts. It should also be noted that the Meotians were excellent fishermen. A large number of fish bones, and not small ones, are found in the ruins of ancient settlements.

It can be assumed that the Meotians who lived on the territory of the ancient Rostov region were bearers of pagan cults. Among the other tribes of the North Caucasian population, they carried religious knowledge, had a dominant role in public life, in particular they were priests.

Interesting site materials

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Introduction

1. Meotians - who are they?
2. Maeotian culture.
3. The system of religious cults and beliefs of the Maeotians.
4. Maeotian writing.
5. Settlements of the Maeotians.
6. Sindo-Meotian era.
7. Meotian tribes.
8. Meotians and nomads.

Conclusion.

Bibliography.

Introduction

To fully reveal the essence of human culture, it is not enough to study the current state of the culture of peoples. It is necessary to take an excursion into the history of the formation of the people. At the same time, it is necessary to study what influence other civilizations had on the formation of their culture.

More than two and a half thousand years ago, the steppes of the shores of the Black and Azov Seas were inhabited by numerous and militant peoples. Who were they, what did they look like, where did they come from?

Archeology can now answer all these and other questions. The ancient inhabitants of this land disappeared without a trace among the new nomads, whose invasions, like waves, rolled across the Northern Black Sea region.

The middle and lower reaches of the Kuban River, the Eastern Azov region, the Taman Peninsula and the Trans-Kuban region were occupied by settled agricultural tribes, united by a common name - Maeota.

Therefore, the Greeks called the tribes that lived along the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov, and later all other tribes closely related to the Azov tribes in language, religion and culture and living in the vast Kuban expanses, as Meotians.

1. Meotians - who are they?

In the first millennium BC, the coast of Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov), almost the entire territory of the North Caucasus, with the plains adjacent to it from the north, were inhabited by related peoples. These peoples - Sinds, Zikhs, Psessians, Dandarii, Doshis, Toreates, Abydiacens, Arreachi, Achaeans, Moschi, Sittakeni, Tarpeti, Fatei in the annals of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome are collectively called maiotis (hereinafter Maeotians).
The Meotians are excellent craftsmen, among them blacksmiths, stonemasons, potters, shoemakers, tailors, and jewelers. Representatives of each craft formed a clan class. At the same time, it was unacceptable for anyone to mind their own business.

The Meots are the indigenous population of the Northwestern Caucasus, belonging to the Caucasian language family and being one of the distant ancestors of the Circassians. We find confirmation of this both in archaeological monuments and in linguistic data - names of tribes, proper names, geographical names.
Archaeological materials are even more important. Excavations of Meotian settlements on the territory of Adygea (Takhtamukayskoye, Novovochepshiyevskoye, Krasny farms) showed the continuity of the development of Meotian culture up to the early Middle Ages inclusive (VII-VII centuries BC).
True, there is a different point of view on the origin of the Meotians. Linguist O. N. Trubachev believes that the Sinds and Meots are Proto-Indians with an independent dialect, being the remnants of the Indo-Aryans in the North Caucasus after the bulk of them left for the southeast.

The Meotians lived in the mountains and plains of Ciscaucasia. The Meotian mountaineers led a sedentary lifestyle and were mainly engaged in agriculture. On the plains, the Meotians usually led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and were mainly engaged in transhumance cattle breeding. Fishing was an important branch of the economy. For fishing, a net, seine, and hook tackle were used.

The ancient Greeks called the Sea of ​​Azov Meotida, and translated it means “stinking puddle.” Unflattering; but, for comparison, the name of the Abin River translated from ancient Adyghe means “lost place”... (a hypothesis now refuted - A. Zh.). The last expedition of the school archaeological circle to the ancient settlement was crowned with success: more than 200 units of excavated material were found (to put it simply - beads, shards, bones of fish and livestock, etc.). And although the total mass of finds is quite modest (for example, the amphora was very poorly preserved and cannot be restored in itself, unless it can be restored using samples from other places), they can tell something about the life of the settlers.
There were no particularly rich people among them: there was no luxuriously ornamented crockery, which at that time was considered an indicator of wealth and authority. Almost all the dishes (with the exception of the amphora, which will be discussed later) are made locally and are very simple. The remoteness of the settlement from cultural and economic centers, including Taman, is obvious, because, among other things, there is nothing indicating their visit (that is, horse harness or fragments of wheeled vehicles). The settlers lived by raising livestock, hunting and fishing, the latter being evidenced by the discovery of a dry river bed. Although fish could also be bought from visiting traders. A clay spindle whorl was also found - a weight that gives the spindle the force of inertial rotation; This means that the spinning craft was familiar to them.
Fragments of dwellings indicate that the local Meotians lived in tourist huts, built on reed “stilts”. This means that flooding also happened here.
Despite the poverty of everyday life, trade ties with the “civilized world” existed. Two glass beads of different shapes and colors were discovered; one of them is definitely Greek (from Taman), the other was brought by merchants from Egypt. But the main wealth of the tribe (or at least the main wealth of the archaeological group) is the amphora mentioned above. It was this that made it possible to approximately determine the year the settlement was founded.
It was made in the workshop of the famous master Lin, whose mark is well preserved on the shard: the name (Λινου) and the image of a vine - such an antique trademark. In other nearby areas of Abinsk and other regions, several amphorae under the same “brand” were found. Eponyms written on the other side of each amphora helped to establish the date of events. Eponyms are the names of people (or gods) after whom, for example, years are named (as in our cases); here these are the ruling magistrates Astimedes and Nikasagoras I. However, it was not possible to read the eponym on the amphora from this quarry - it was very poorly preserved. But the name of industrialist Lin was sufficient. It has been established that he worked in 200 - 170 BC. e.

1. Maeotian culture

The Maeotian culture took shape at the dawn of the Iron Age and continued to develop for more than ten centuries under the influence of the cultures of neighboring peoples and states. Excavations and study of household and cultural objects found at the Novodzherelievsky settlement (radante, as the locals call this place) tell us about the life of the Meotians. Throughout history, the Meotians were in close contact with nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes, first with the Cimmerians, then with the Scythians and Sarmatians. This is confirmed by objects found during excavations of burial grounds. The dead were buried crouched on their sides or stretched out on their backs. When burying warriors, they placed spearheads, arrows, daggers, swords, parts of horse harness - bits, cheekpieces. All these items are exhibited in the Museum of History and Archeology of the village of Novodzherelievskaya.

The formation of the Meotian culture most likely took place on the territory of the Northern Kuban region during the 8th - 7th centuries BC. The Meotian tribes came to the Eastern Azov region only in the 2nd century BC. Along both banks of the Kirpili River (Maly Rombit), the Meotians founded a number of settlements that stretched from the modern village of Rogovskaya to the city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

The most ancient Sindian tribes were engaged not only in cattle breeding and hunting, but even ancient authors note that those Sindians who lived near the seas and rivers had developed fishing. Research by scientists shows that these ancient tribes had some kind of cult of fish. Sinds from the 3rd millennium BC. e. began to engage in pottery production, as evidenced by numerous materials from archaeological excavations in various regions of the North Caucasus - habitats of the Sindo-Meotian tribes. In addition, other skills have existed in Sindik since ancient times - bone dressing and stone cutting.

The most significant successes were achieved by the ancestors of the Circassians and the Circassian ethnic group itself in agriculture, cattle breeding, and gardening. Many cereal crops: rye, barley, wheat, etc. were the main agricultural crops that were grown by them from time immemorial. The Adygs bred many varieties of apple and pear trees. The science of horticulture has preserved about ten names of Circassian (Adyghe) varieties of apple trees and the same number of pears 17 .

The Sinds very early switched to iron, to its production and use. Iron made a real revolution in the life of every people, including the ancestors of the Circassians - the Sindo-Meotian tribes. Iron has been firmly established in the North Caucasus since the 8th century. BC e. Among the peoples of the North Caucasus who began to receive and use iron, the Sinds were among the first. This is evidenced by the fact that ancient authors recognized the Sinds primarily as a people of the Iron Age. It is not for nothing that the ancient Greeks considered the Caucasus the birthplace of metallurgy, and the ancient metallurgists of the Caucasus were the first in the world. High skill in processing non-ferrous metals could only be developed on the basis of the rich experience of their predecessors, on the previously created material and technical base.

In addition to the above monuments of the ancient Sinds, we find a lot of interesting things in their culture. These are original musical instruments made of bone; primitive but characteristic figurines, various dishes, utensils, weapons and much more. The ancient Sinds worshiped the Sun. When burying leaders in mounds, they built large circles of stone. In addition, in ancient times they had the custom of sprinkling the deceased with red paint - ocher. This is evidence of Sun worship. One of the significant periods in the development of ancient Sindica, including its culture, is the 5th century. BC e., agriculture and animal husbandry are widely developed in Sindik. Culture reaches a high level of development. Trade and economic ties with many peoples, including the Greeks, are expanding.

They had extensive connections with many peoples, including the peoples of Georgia, Asia Minor, etc., and trade was at a high level. It was during the Iron Age that it reached the highest level of its development.

1. System of religious cults and beliefs of the Maeotians
   The Meotian beliefs are characterized by the deification of the forces of nature, natural phenomena, which appear to the Meotians in the form of the god of the sun, light, fire, god of rain, thunderstorms, god of the forest, god of the sea and other gods. The Meotians made sacrifices to these gods, accompanied by a complex ritual.
   Various magical rituals performed by the elders of the clan were widespread. The rituals consisted of casting special spells and preparing magical potions. The eldest of the family, the most experienced in magical knowledge, plunged into a trance, during which he “saw” the events of the past, present, future, “talked” with deceased relatives, gods, asked for help or advice on what to do in this or that case
   The composition of the Maeotian pantheon is very complex and difficult to comprehensively classify. Meotian gods could personify both natural and elemental phenomena - the gods of the sky, earth, sun, fire, wind, and abstract concepts: hospitality, honesty, loyalty to the traditions of ancestors, loyalty to the oath, etc. There were also patron gods for representatives of each craft.
   The cults of honoring deceased relatives and funeral rites were very important for the Meotians. The body was placed in a pit in a crouched position. Objects that the deceased might need in the land of the dead were placed into the grave. Funeral gifts from the relatives and fellow villagers of the deceased were also placed there - dishes, weapons, clothes, jewelry. An earthen mound was built over the burial.
   For a certain period of time, from several weeks to several months, depending on what class the deceased belonged to, funeral rituals were carried out near the grave. The Meotians organized a circular procession around the grave, with ritual chants, crying, and noise, driving away evil spirits. In order to scare and ward off evil spirits, all sorts of “scary” images of predators and phantasmagoric monsters were installed around the grave.
   The main god of the Meotians was the god of the sun, fire, light, and heat. The Meotians identified these phenomena with each other, considered them the source of life on Earth, and deified them. They, like the peoples of the Maikop, dolmen, and North Caucasian cultures, sprinkled the body of the deceased with red paint - ocher, which symbolized fire.
   Since the Early Iron Age, thanks to ancient Greek and eastern written sources, we have become aware of the names of the tribes and nationalities that inhabited the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and the Northwestern Caucasus. In the steppe zone, ancient authors call the Cimmerians, then the Scythians and their eastern neighbors - the Sauromatians. The indigenous population of the Eastern Azov region, the Kuban region and the Trans-Kuban region (Adygea) were the tribes of the Meots; on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus there were related tribes of the Kerkets, Torets, Achaeans, and Zikhs. The term "Meotians" is a collective term that unites a number of smaller tribes.
   P.U. Outlev, based on the materials of the Nart epic, believes that the word “Meots” in its full form “Meuthjokh” meant “a sea that is muddier.” The proposed interpretation of the name of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, as P.U. Outlev writes, sheds some light on the question of the origin of the ethnic name “Meota” and the toponymic Meuthjokh.
   The Meotians and Sindians were first mentioned by ancient Greek authors of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. More complete and detailed information on the history, geography and ethnography of the North-West Caucasus is available in the work of the Greek geographer Strabo (lived at the turn of our era). Strabo has a list of numerous Maeotian tribes, and among the Maeotians he includes the Sindians, as well as the tribes of the Caucasian coast. Describing the eastern coast of Maeotis, Strabo notes many fishing points for salting, as well as Little Rombit and a fishing cape where the Maeotians themselves work. Maly Rombit can be identified with the Kirpili River, which in ancient times flowed into the Sea of ​​Azov.
   In addition to ancient authors, the names of local tribes were preserved for us by dedicatory inscriptions of the 4th century. BC e. from the territory of the Bosporan state. They contain a list of Maeotian tribes that were subordinate or dependent on the Bosporan rulers. These are the Sinds, Dandarias, Torets, Psess, Fatei, Doskhs. The localization of numerous Meotian tribes on a modern map does not seem possible with the exception of the Sinds, who lived in the lower reaches of the river. Kuban (on its left bank), on the Taman Peninsula and the Black Sea coast to Anapa. A study of archaeological sites showed that Meotian tribes inhabited the basin of the Kuban River and its lower and middle reaches, both the right bank and the left bank (Zakubanye) to the northern spurs of the Caucasus Mountains. In the north, in the steppe zone, they bordered on the nomadic tribes of the Sauromatians (Sarmatians).

Throughout their history, the Meotians repeatedly entered into close relationships with nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes. First with the Cimmerians, then with the Scythians and, finally, with the Sarmatians. The Cimmerians were steppe nomads who inhabited the steppe spaces of the Northern Black Sea region. It is generally accepted that the Cimmerians also lived in the steppes of the right bank of the Kuban. From here the Cimmerians moved through Transcaucasia to Asia Minor and Asia Minor. The Scythians ousted the Cimmerians from the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and followed them into Western Asia. The campaigns of the Scythians date back to the beginning of the 7th century. BC. Having stayed in Western Asia for about 90 years, they returned to their original homeland. The Scythians, upon their return, could have stayed for some time in the Kuban region. This was reflected in the weapons and elements of the animal style.

1. Writing of the Sindo-Meotian tribes

Research by specialists has shown that it was during the period of military democracy that the ancient Sinds developed their own, albeit largely primitive, writing. Thus, more than 300 clay tiles were found in the places where the Sindo-Meotian tribes lived. They were 14–16 cm long and 10–12 cm wide, about 2 cm thick, made of gray clay, well dried, but not fired. The signs on the tiles are mysterious and very diverse.

Ancient Sindic expert Yu. S. Krushkol notes that it is difficult to abandon the assumption that the signs on the tiles are the embryo of writing. A certain similarity of these tiles with clay, also unfired, tiles of Assyrian-Babylonian writing confirms that they are monuments of writing. 19 A significant number of these tiles were found near the city of Krasnodar, one of the areas inhabited by the ancient Sinds.

In addition to the Krasnodar tiles, scientists in the North Caucasus discovered another remarkable monument of ancient writing - the Maykop inscription. It dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. e. and is the oldest in the territory of the former Soviet Union. This inscription was studied by a major specialist in oriental inscriptions, Professor G. F. Turchaninov. He proved that it is a monument to pseudo-hieroglyphic Biblical writing.

The similarity of the Krasnodar tiles with the Maykop inscription eloquently testifies to the origin of writing among the Sindo-Meotian tribes - the ancestors of the Abkhaz-Adygs back in the 2nd millennium BC. e. It should be noted that scientists have discovered some similarities between the Maykop inscription and the Krasnodar tiles with the Hittite hieroglyphic script. Bibliography.

Questions: From what sources do they obtain information about the tribes of the Early Iron Age who inhabited the Kuban? From what sources do they obtain information about the tribes of the Early Iron Age who inhabited the Kuban? What were the consequences of the development of iron for the economic and social life of the tribes? What were the consequences of the development of iron for the economic and social life of the tribes?

Questions: What tribes and peoples inhabited the Kuban during the Early Iron Age? What tribes and peoples inhabited the Kuban during the Early Iron Age? Tell us about the life of the Meotian tribes on the territory of the Kuban during the Early Iron Age? Tell us about the life of the Meotian tribes on the territory of the Kuban during the Early Iron Age? The social system of the cops was…. The social system of the cops was….

Questions: Show on the map the direction of the Scythian campaigns through Transcaucasia and Western Asia. Show on the map the direction of the Scythian campaigns through Transcaucasia and Western Asia. Tell us about the activities and lifestyle of the Scythian tribes. Tell us about the activities and lifestyle of the Scythian tribes.

Questions: Show on the map the places of settlement of the cops and Sarmatians. How can you explain this resettlement? Show on the map the places of settlement of the cops and Sarmatians. How can you explain this resettlement? What is the linguistic affiliation of the Ments, Scythians and Sarmatians? What is the linguistic affiliation of the Ments, Scythians and Sarmatians? What are the common and distinctive features in the lifestyle, occupations, level of development of material culture, social organization of the cops, Scythians, Siracs? What are the common and distinctive features in the lifestyle, occupations, level of development of material culture, social organization of the cops, Scythians, Siracs?

Living in a city for many years, you gain confidence that you know everything about it. Familiar buildings, streets, factories, shops, cinemas, squares... Nothing new, everything is ordinary, “gray”, boring. But often these same streets hide amazing secrets of the lives of people of the distant past. And now you are rushing through the “labyrinths of thousands of years of history,” meeting its most diverse characters. Once upon a time here, primitive people butchered the carcass of a killed mammoth or bison and worked on another stone tool; Meotian potters created high-quality ceramics; Turkic-speaking nomads stopped for a short rest.

We know all this thanks to the most important science in the study of “preliterate” history - archaeology. It makes things of the past a property of the present - from the remains of buildings to the bones of domestic animals, from tools to military weapons... And archaeologists carried out excavations not just somewhere, but right on the streets of Krasnodar.

For example, on the site of the modern architectural complex "Aurora" (built in 1967), half a century ago there was a mound about 4 meters high (topographic height - about 37 meters). Due to its convenient location on the ground and its height, after the Cossacks moved to Kuban, it was used as an observation post. At the top of the embankment a wooden tower was built on 4 pillars, where Cossacks were on duty around the clock.
In 1965, the mound was explored under the guidance of the famous archaeologist, Professor N.V. Anfimova. As a result, it turned out that it was poured back in the 2nd millennium BC. (that is, about 3.5 thousand years ago). The burial chamber-catacomb with objects of the funeral ritual (weapons, ceramics, etc.) was perfectly preserved in the mound, but the remains of the buried person were not found. Scientists have come to the conclusion that this is a cenotaph (from the Greek “empty grave” or, otherwise, a symbolic burial). The ritual of constructing cenotaphs was performed in memory of a person who did not return home, who died somewhere in a foreign land. It goes without saying that not everyone deserved such an honor, because... Such archaeological monuments are not found very often.

The most numerous monuments were left to us as a legacy by the indigenous population of Kuban. In modern Krasnodar, there are several burial grounds and settlements dating back to that time. The literature even highlights the Krasnodar group of Meotian monuments. They were discovered completely by accident, most often during the construction of residential and commercial buildings. So, in 1927 N.A. Zakharov carried out work on the site during the construction of the KRES, and in 1929 M.V. Pokrovsky explores the burial ground discovered on Pochtovaya Street. In subsequent years, excavations were conducted by N.V. Anfimov. Krasnodar settlements appear on archaeological maps in the city park, on Dubinka; Pashkovskoye settlement and its burial ground; burial grounds behind the tanneries and on the territory of the educational farm. However, the Prikubansky district of Krasnodar, or rather its burial mound necropolis, explored at the beginning of the century by N.I., has gained worldwide fame. Veselovsky. Despite the fact that all the mounds were robbed in ancient times, some objects that apparently were of no value to the robbers, or were simply not noticed by them, now arouse the admiration of our contemporaries and adorn the collection of the State Hermitage. This is a magnificent, completely intact bronze shell with the head of Medusa.

There are also burial mounds from the Middle Ages on the territory of our city, which give an idea of ​​the peoples living in the territory of Kuban at that time. Thus, at Pashkovsky settlement No. 1, complexes of tribes of the Saltovo-Mayat culture, which appeared in the Kuban region in the 6th-7th centuries, were studied. AD Burials of the 7th-8th centuries. AD found on the street. Kuban.

Of course, not all archaeological monuments located on the territory of present-day Krasnodar have reached us. But what we know today allows us to imagine that once upon a time there were citadels here, the colorful clothes of foreign merchants vying with each other to offer their goods, the kilns of pottery workshops were burning, and from time to time the deadly arrows of formidable nomads rushed through. This is how the history of the future capital of Kuban developed over many millennia.

Mounds of the Elizabethan necropolis.

The Elizabethan burial mounds number about 30 mounds. 5 of the largest of them were excavated by N.I. Veselovsky in 1912-!915 and 1917. The mounds rose above the ground by more than 6 meters.
The burial rites were the same. A deep, rectangular burial pit was dug in the mainland, where a crypt was made for the main burial. A log canopy was built above it, resting on thick pillars. A long corridor (dromos), also covered with logs and sometimes lined with wood on the inside, led into the pit. A large embankment was erected over all this. In one of the excavated mounds, the depth of the burial pit reached 8.5 meters, while it reached 9.65 meters in width and 12.80 meters in length.

For whom were such impressive funeral structures built? Of course, not every ordinary citizen of the Meotian city could count on having such comfortable conditions for his life in the other world. Of course, representatives of the family aristocracy, tribal leaders who went to another world with devoted servants and entire herds of horses were buried here. So, for example, in one tomb, 23 horses lay along the walls, most of them with harnesses (bridle sets), and in the largest mound their number reached 200. Sometimes there were not just horse skeletons, but horses harnessed to a chariot. In one of the mounds in the dromos leading to the crypt, two wooden four-wheeled chariots were found, drawn by six horses (three in a row), between them lay a drawbar, covered with iron at the end. The body of the chariots was painted - traces of blue, white and yellow paint were preserved, the front wall was decorated with bone circles and buttons. The wheels were covered with iron. In two mounds there were burials of warriors in expensive armor, with long swords, placed outside the crypt, as if they were guarding their master in another world. Most likely, these are the warriors or squires of the leader. There were also burials of women with bronze earrings, beads on their necks and bronze bracelets and rings on their hands. Most likely, these were maids, possibly slaves, used for domestic services, since they were either outside the burial pit along with the horses, or in the grave along with the horse burials.

Unfortunately, all the examined mounds were robbed in ancient times, when the log roofs of the burial chambers did not rot and the robbers were free to operate underground. However, either in haste, or from lack of light, or for some other reason, the tomb robbers did not take everything with them. For example, in one mound, part of the burial goods remained untouched, and archaeologists fell into the hands of 2 gray clay jugs of local production, 9 simple pointed-bottomed amphorae, a wooden box decorated with bronze animal figurines and columns, and a magnificent, completely intact one. Here and there we came across gold sewn-on plaques and plates, the remains of a necklace made of hollow tubes, amphora-shaped pendants and gold beads. And in the robbery of one of the mounds, 3 gold stripes with the image of the ancient Greek goddess of victory Nike, a gold strip with curls and a bronze shell with the head of Medusa were found. All these finds are included in the world treasury of culture, and many of them are now an adornment of the Special Storeroom of the State Hermitage.

Panathenaic amphora.

Such amphorae, filled with expensive olive oil, were awarded to the winners at the Panathenaic competitions held in Athens in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena. There is no reason to assume that the Maeotian leader took part in such events, since only Greeks were allowed to participate in them. Most likely, the amphora was an item of trade and was purchased from some Bosporan merchant.

Bronze breastplate with the head of Medusa.

The image is made in an archaic style. A wide face with menacingly open eyes, a flattened nose, an expressive mouth with a protruding tongue and bared teeth, wavy hair like snakes, bending ornamentally and filling the upper field of the bib. Such an image was intended to produce a terrifying effect and, bearing in mind the property of the head of Medusa the Gorgon with its gaze to turn a person to stone, may have served as something of a talisman or talisman.

Meotians.

The tribes that inhabited the basin of the middle and lower reaches of the Kuban River and the Eastern Azov region were called Meotians by ancient authors in the early Iron Age. They spoke languages ​​belonging to the Caucasian language family and related to modern Adyghe. We find evidence of this in the names of localities, rivers, and proper names conveyed to us over more than two thousand years by ancient authors. For example, place names such as Psoa, Psekhano, r. Psat (Psatiy) contain the root “ps” (water) and find an explanation in the Adyghe language. True, the language was only spoken; the Meotians had no written language.

The basis of the economy of these tribes was agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing and handicraft production. The ancients did not disdain trade. It was carried out especially vigorously with settlers from ancient Greece, who founded cities along the coast of the Azov and Black Seas and united into the Bosporan state. In the 5th century BC. on the Meotian settlement near the present station. Elizavetinskaya (Prikubansky district of Krasnodar) even a Bosporus trading post appears. Not only Bosporan merchants, but also artisans settled here; from here goods move further up the Kuban and into the depths of the steppes.

What did they trade in those distant times? They exported mainly grain, livestock products (leather, wool), canned fish, furs and slaves. In return, the Greeks received wine and olive oil, incense, jewelry, beads, expensive weapons, ancient Greek painted and black-glazed pottery, etc. - in a word, luxury items. As a result of such close communication with the Greeks, the Meotians borrowed a number of achievements of ancient culture, but the Greeks also adopted many valuable things: for example, battle tactics, some types of weapons, clothing that was more convenient in local conditions than the original Greek ones, etc. They also had to deal with nomads, who were not always peaceful. And over time, small ancestral villages turned into fortified settlements.

The settlements were located, as a rule, on high terraces of rivers, channels and estuaries, often occupying natural spurs and capes. High banks, sometimes almost vertical, provided reliable protection, and on the other side there were ditches and earthen ramparts. A settlement usually consisted of an internal citadel, surrounded by a deep internal ditch and rampart, and an adjacent main settlement area, in turn protected by a ditch and rampart. These villages were small. Behind the outer fortifications of the settlements, as a rule, there were ancient cemeteries of the ordinary population - ground burial grounds that had no visible external signs. There were once hills here, which smoothed out over time.

As a rule, representatives of the family aristocracy were buried in mounds (large earthen mounds, sometimes with complex burial structures). The dwellings of the Meotians were mostly turluch, some had cellars for storing food. If initially the settlements were small tribal villages, where from several tens to several hundred people lived, then over time cities appeared, the population of which was several thousand people. And all this mass of people had to be controlled by some kind of administration.

Gradually, nobility of lower ranks emerged, helping the leader in administration, warriors, and professional warriors-horses. This social system was called “military democracy.” Free members of the community were divided into ordinary community members, mostly farmers, and a military-aristocratic part, which grouped around the leader and made up a military squad. At the same time, the leader relied on the bulk of the community members, since there was still no power separated from the people and each community member was an armed warrior. There was also slavery. Some of the prisoners of war and captured population were turned into slaves and used on the farm as junior members of the family, some were sold to ancient colonies.

In the second half of the 1st century AD. New tribes appeared in the Kuban region, coming from the northeast - the Alans. The Meotians were forced to leave their homes and move to the Trans-Kuban region, where tribes related to them lived. By the end of the 2nd century. AD In many settlements and cities, life ceased, and only large settlements with a powerful defensive system continued to exist until the middle of the 3rd century AD. From that time on, the Kuban steppes became the lot of nomads.

Bulgarians.

Turkic-speaking tribes that roamed the territory of the North Caucasus steppes in the first centuries of the new era. They were part of the Hunnic horde, the invasion of which caused a grandiose movement of peoples, rightly called “great”. Hunnic-Bulgarian massif by the 6th century. represented a people consisting of a number of tribes and divided into several military-political organizations. Moreover, despite the fact that they spoke the same language, belonging to the Western Turkic group, led the same lifestyle, wore similar clothes, and were very different from each other in appearance. Each tribe was headed by its own ruler, and the union of tribes was headed by a leader (khan).