An iron dagger with a zoomorphic tip found near Ilinskoe village in Orenburg region
https://doi.org/10.18384/2949-5164-2023-5-151-167
Abstract
Aim. To review the history of the dagger of the Scythian period with a zoomorphic decoration of the handle, found in 1912 near Ilyinskoe village in Orenburg region, and to determine its real archaeological context. This find was published before with an erroneous interpretation of the images.
Methodology. Using the methods of iconographic analysis, it was established that the dagger depicts not the heads of griffins, but the figures of feline predators, their heads touching. Using a comparative method, a series of similar blades from the Scythian era was selected, allowing us to talk about a certain cultural and historical context and date the dagger to the 5th–4th centuries B.C.
Results. Based on the stylistic analysis, the dagger is classified as one of the antiquities characteristic of the Filippovsky burial mound necropolis in Orenburg region.
Research implications. Moving the dagger to different museums gave the author a reason to touch upon the history of the division of cultural property between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan at the time of the formation of Kazakh statehood in the late 20s of the 20th century. The article demonstrates the fruitfulness of the cooperation between Russian and Kazakh specialists in studying the common cultural heritage of modern neighboring states.
Supporting agencies: I express my gratitude for the help in working with the dagger from Bishkul to the senior lecturer of the Department of Archaeology, Ethnology and Museology of the Faculty of History of the Kazakh National University al-Farabi in Almaty – to Bauyrzhan Besetaev.
About the Author
V. Yu. Zuev
International Journal «Stratum+. Archeology and Cultural Anthropology»
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Vadim Yu. Zuev – Cand. Sci. (History), Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the Field of Science, Member of the Editorial Board
St. Petersburg
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