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textile art, queer art, political art, minority stress, teens’ suicides
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nation, politics of memory, patriotism, retrotopia, power, discourse
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The paper deals with the materials of the Late Bronze Age found in the barrows of the group “Plavni” near the Glinoe village, Slobodzeya district, located in the Krasnaya River basin on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. 18 graves of the Late Bronze Age were discovered in 2 mounds. The investigated burials can be attributed to the Dnieper-Prut Babino culture, Sabatinovka culture and Belozerka culture. The presented materials allow us to speak about the continuity of funerary traditions in the region throughout the Late Bronze Age. Puck-shaped beads made from vertebrae of large fish from a grave of the Sabatinoka time are the most interesting among the finds.
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The paper discusses some Early Iron Age knobbed ring types discovered in central, eastern and southern parts of Europe. Rings with 2 to 5 granules forming a rosette, those with pegs to which 3—5 beads are attached, and some with single knobs are considered. The research sample consists of 188 finds from 67 sites. A typology of the artifacts is proposed, with two orders, six ring types, and a series of subtypes and varieties. The knobbed ring types under study existed mainly from the 6th until the 3rd century BCE, while the youngest specimens are extremely rare and date back to the 2nd — 1st century BCE. The main areas of their distribution are the Northern Black Sea region and the Balkan-Carpathian region.
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In 2020, barrow 1 in the Qyzylzhartas burial ground, Karaganda region, the Republic of Kazakhstan, was excavated. The barrow of the Early Saka period had a crepidome in its base, and the mound itself had 37 m in diameter and was surrounded by a stone fence with a diameter of 56 m. Under the mound, there were three stone sculptures depicting two males and a female, while another one, representing a male, was placed in the dromos of the grave. The burial had been robbed in the past. The burial pit contained part of the bones of a human skeleton, near which over 300 small pieces of gold decoration were found. An iron axe head has 21.3 cm of length and 1.7 kg of weight and was found near the burial pit. In the spring of 2023, two bone samples were analyzed by the Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry ‘Vilnius Radiocarbon’, Lithuania. The one was a human bone found in the grave, and the other was an animal bone from a tunnel dug by robbers. Both archaeological evidence and a radiocarbon date obtained from a human bone sample suggest the 8th century BCE to be the most relevant date for the burial. It is the same time range that the massive axe head of archaic appearance, made of a piece of iron, apparently dates back to. This is the first discovery of an iron axe head of the early Saka period in Kazakhstan. In 2022—2023, metallographic and chemical analyzes of the iron tool were carried out. The results of these analyzes are published for the first time in this paper. The bits of the axe head were found to have been carburized by an ancient blacksmith in order to impart hardness onto these spots. The Vickers hardness test confirmed this observation by comparing the bits and the shaft-hole part of the axe head.
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Composition of 147 vessel glass samples from a cemetery of late 1st — late 4th / early 5th centuries, completely excavated on the outskirts of Sevastopol, has been studied with LA-ICP-MS technique. This data allows evaluating glass recycling practices in the workshops producing vessels for regional population. The data on vessel forms, their spread in the cemetery and the chemical composition of glass could yield the circumstantial evidence on the local glass working (most probably, in Chersonessos), time of its emergence and peculiarities. Glass vessels become widespread here from the 2nd century, and serial types, made of the “mixed” Sb-Mn glass occur at the same period. It could be related to the emergence of local glass working, based on the raw glass imported from Eastern Mediterranean, and the extensive glass recycling. Large-scale recycling is also typical for the late series of glass (and vessel types) especially widespread here (Foy-3.2, 3.2/2.1). Local glass working was therefore based on extensive use of cullet; this peculiarity is usually typical for the periphery of the Roman Empire, lacking the imported raw glass. Glass of the Egyptian origin form Frontovoe has much more pronounced evidence for recycling than of the Levantine one.
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The research scope covers funeral and commemorative complexes of city sites and necropoleis of classical antiquity in the North Pontic area. Two types of such complexes were distinguished by the authors on the basis of the archaeological record. The first one is spatially associated with individual burials in necropoleis. A series of events may have taken place there, such as feasts following immediately after a burial ceremony, rites of revisiting graves in a long while after the funeral, as well as those dedicated to deceased ancestors and held during annual celebrations. Complexes of the second type were discovered both in necropoleis and in city sites. Basically, these were not associated with individual graves, being most likely a result of gradual transformation of complexes of the first type. It is actually these places wherein elaborated magical actions have been performed with an eye to unite all family members into a solid spiritual force.
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In this paper, twelve marble “medallion” capitals of the Holy Land are collected together, stylistically analyzed, and dated for the first time. For a better understanding of their geographical distribution, the places of recovery were marked on the map. In the recent article of C. Barsanti (2017), only 40 capitals of this type were collected throughout the whole Mediterranean region, so the number of local artifacts is rather considerable. None of the local capitals was revealed in situ but only in secondary use in the Early Islamic context or scattered at the sites. In all cases, Early-Byzantine churches dated to the 5th — 6th centuries CE were located in close vicinity. The paper consistently provides them as apparent sources from which the capitals might be hypothetically generated. Stylistic analysis showed the process of order alteration: the recognizable morphological basis of the type was followed (though not strictly) in all specimens. At the same time, ancillary details might vary considerably from one capital to the other. This process implies gradual order decline moves from more complete and detailed to more laconic variations of the “medallion” type.
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The article deals with the localization of the Bilistan fortress, which, according to the authoritative Arab historian Ibn A’tham al-Kufi (d. 926), was besieged by Arab troops led by the governor of Arminiyya Marwan ibn Muhammad in 120 AH / 738 CE during the conquest campaigns in the East Caucasus and in which the king of Lakz Arbis ibn Basbas took refuge. According to al-Kufi’s Kitāb al-futūḥ (The Book of Conquests), this fortified settlement was located in the Land of Lakz in the middle reaches of the Samur River. In 2019, a hypothesis based on a linguistic-etymological and toponymic analysis was proposed by one of the authors of this article, according to which this historically attested site could be located in the middle reaches of the Samur River, in the area of the modern-day village of Kuysun. Discovered here in 2023, a settlement with a fortified citadel as well as the ceramic material collected there enable the dating of the site to the 6th — 8th century. Hence, there is a strong argument for localizing the Bilistan fortress exactly where the recently discovered Kuysun settlement is situated.
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A new find of stone sculpture of the ancient Turkic times (7th — 8th century) from Northern Kazakhstan is published, and the description and attribution of the find are given. The statue represents a stately figure of a sitting man. Such statues are quite rare in the Tobol River region; at the same time, they are markers of the area of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Hence, the sample of this kind of archaeological record is gradually replenished with finds, which enables reconstruction of a picture of cultural and historical processes in the steppe belt of Eurasia in the times of the early Turkic states. Taking into account the small number of findspots and sites of the ancient Turkic period in the region, which is due, among other things, to the agricultural development of land, each find of stone sculpture is of particular importance.
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A hoard of 37 dirhams of the Golden Horde is presented. In the early 2000s, it was found in a loose soil left after barrow robbery on Svistun Mountain (northern environs of the village of Alexandrovskoe, Stavropol Region). Most likely, the hoard was part of the deposit that was found on Svistun Mountain in 1895. It includes coins of Öz Beg, Jani Beg, Khiḍr, Berdi Beg, Nowruz Beg, and Murād. According to the younger coin, the treasure dates back to the 763 AH (31 October 1361 — 20 October 1362). The later issuer, Murād (Amurat of the Russian Chronicles), is mentioned in written sources as the ruler of Sarai, but he minted coins only in Guliston. Thus, the hoarding may refer to the final stage of the hot phase of the civil war, to which the definition of ‘Velikaia Zamiatnia’ (‘The Great Turmoil’) can be applied, and the hoard is another illustration of this phenomenon.
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During the scholarly excavations at the Sarayshyq city site, a total of eight hoards of silver Jochid coins were discovered and recorded with varying degrees of detail. The accumulated number of hidden treasures requires and allows for their analysis. The aim of thе study was to identify peculiarities of silver coin compositions in Sarayshyq hoards discovered during archaeological excavations, as well as to establish the sources of receipt of silver minted products to meet the needs of local coin circulation in dynamics. Eight hoards of dirhams were examined. The numismatic record under study was criticized, and as a result of this 4 hoards were only selected for analysis, the date of deposition for which can be established with a terminus post quem restriction. The concealment of the hoards fits into the period from 753 АH / 1353 CE until the beginning of the 770 АH / ~1368—1373 CE. The composition of the hoards is dominated by the minted products of coin manufacture of the Saray and Gulistan regions. Rare coins of Sighnaq, Crimea and Azak do not play any significant role in ensuring coin circulation in medieval Saraychuq. The percentage of the Khorezm silver coin in the money supply is also low (less than 5%). Commodity-money relations only began to develop in the studied territory since the 14th century and, most likely, during the reign of Uzbek Khan, the fact which is now confirmed by hoard studies. In the 14th century (until the second half of the 770 AH / 1368—1373 CE), silver coins came to Saraychuq from the Saray region, and then from Gulistan. It can be assumed that the medieval Saraychuq was part of the Saray region during this period.
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At the end of the 14th century, a new actor appeared on the European scene, the Jagiellonian dynasty, which for two centuries played an important role in the political life of Central and Eastern Europe. The Jagiellons also was connected with the Balkans. Here, the coins of the Jagiellonian rulers, from the progenitor Władysław Jagiełło to the last representative Zygmunt II (including those who were on the Hungarian throne), which were found in present-day Bulgaria, are examined. Both individual finds and those found in the hoards have been analyzed. Compared to the issues of Władysław Warneńczyk, the coins of the other rulers are less common, which seems logical, given the specificity and the difficulty of the period; but in the 16th century, and more specifically around the middle of the century, the number of specimens began to increase. The cultural record like this is a good proof of the contacts between the Bulgarian lands and the nations of Central Europe during this period. The article provides a basis we can stand upon in future research on the matter, since the sample of Jagiellonian coin finds in this geographical area is expected to increase.
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This article describes the wall-painting cycle of ornamental circles on the hanging shrouds which decorate the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in the St. Ferapont Monastery. Painted in 1502 by the artel of Dionysius, the frescoes represent the earliest extant tier of shrouds among the works of Old Russian monumental art. The iconography and symbolism of hanging shrouds in the church space are well-known, but the reasons why the ornamental circles appeared on the shrouds as well as their semantics and the idea of a special solution Dionysius had made for the tier are among insufficiently studied issues. The background tonality behind the shrouds, the compositional and rhythmic arrangement and the number of circles are analyzed. By referring to iconographic parallels in Judaic ossuaries and Old Russian sarcophagi and church decorations, the conclusion is made that the ornamental circles had the most ancient origin and the peculiar sacral significance; the unique is the conceptual solution proposed by Dionysius: the symbolism of the Byzantine liturgical hours could be reflected in his interpretation of the shrouds.
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There are two hanging seals in our field of vision, the generally accepted attribution of which has not yet been developed. Both on the obverse and the reverse of the unepigraphic seal of Roman origin, highly artistic, embossed and realistically executed busts are imprinted depicting bearded emperors crowned with laurel wreaths; the short-bearded one is most likely Caracalla, while the long-bearded one is presumably Septimius Severus. The portraits on both sides of the second seal seem to depict another pair of Roman sovereigns, since they are represented wearing cuirasses and military cloaks and diadems. To render the images, the official style of iconic representation was used, which was popular in the Roman Empire since the time of Constantine I. The attribution of the second seal is also facilitated by the fact that on its obverse and reverse, remains of the legends have been observed, wherein it is possible to restore the names “Julian” and “Procopius”. The conclusion is that the first seal was stamped under Caracalla and the second one under Procopius; here is the clear evidence of reigning emperors appealing to the authority of their ancestors.
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