MAIASP. 2025. No. 21 Aslan Mamedov (Elista, Russia), Balmagambet Dauteev (Ashylysai v., Kazakhstan) ON A METHOD OF USING GIRTH BUCKLES AND BLOCKS BY EARLY NOMADS OF THE SOUTHERN URALS (based on the materials from the Kurayli III burial ground) The article examines one of the possible ways of using girth buckles and blocks by the early nomads of the Southern Urals. These items of horse harness equipment served as key elements of saddle fittings used during horse saddling. The studied artifacts were discovered during archaeological excavations at the Kurayli III burial ground, located in the middle reaches of the Ilek River. The analysis of the archaeological materials shows that the population of the Ural–Emba interfluve in the mid–late 6th—5th centuries BCE experimented with new methods of securing the saddle more reliably on a riding horse. According to the authors, the Kurayli finds suggest that in the Early Iron Age there existed various types of girth buckles and blocks, whose design implied different methods of attachment. At the same time, the materials demonstrate that these objects also differed in shape and in the stylistic rendering of animal motifs in their decoration. Key words: Southern Urals, Kurayli III, nomads, horse harness, girth buckles. |