MAIASP. 2020. No. 12

Yu.A. Prokopenko (Stavropol, Russia)

Finds of pre-Scythian bimetallic daggers in the vicinity of Stavropol and in the adjacent areas

DOI: 10.24411/2713-2021-2020-00003

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Pages: 98—110

The article is devoted to the description of four bimetallic daggers of the pre-Scythian time, discovered in the vicinity of Stavropol and in the adjacent regions. Two perfectly preserved daggers have an iron blade and a solid bronze (cruciform) handle with a mushroom-shaped pommel and a straight crosshair. The items date back to the 9^th — 8^th centuries BCE. The third dagger was found on the Strizhament mountain (35 km south of Stavropol). The object is represented by a fragment of an iron blade and a bronze handle with a helical corrugation of the barrel, topped with a hemispherical head — characteristic of the 8^th century BCE. The fourth dagger was found in burial 193 of burial ground No. 1 of the Grushevsky settlement (south-western outskirts of Stavropol). On Mount Strizhament, a bronze oar-shaped scabbard was found. The paddle blades are pentagon-shaped. The object is similar to similar arrowheads from the monuments of the North Caucasus of the 9^th — 8^th centuries BCE.

The discovery of a significant number of items 8^th — beginning of the 7^th century BCE, including bimetallic daggers, in the vicinity of the city of Stavropol, according to the author, indicates the existence of a center for the production of weapons (and horse harness) on the territory of the Stavropol Upland at the indicated time.

Key words: Central Ciscaucasia, Stavropol Upland, Pre-Scythian Period, Cimmerians, Koban culture tribes, bimetal dagger, blade, hilt, metal working.

Received November 18, 2020

Accepted for publication December 02, 2020

About the author:

Prokopenko Yuriy Anatol'yevich (Stavropol, Russia). Dr. habil. (History), North-Caucasus Federal University

E-mail: z_proko_15@mail.ru