Details of the horse bridle from the burial of the Sarmatian horseman from Kovalevka kurgan cemetery

Introduction. The article publishes and analyzes the materials founded by the kurgan research near the village of Kovalevka in the southern part of the Volga-Don interfluve. Kurgan No. 13 is part of a kurgan cemetery, where the burials look relatively simultaneous and can be interpreted as a cemetery of nomadic migrants, settled in this territory in the confrontation with other Sarmatian groups. Methods. The authors pay special attention to the details of the horse bridle, to the type of the bits and cheek-pieces, and to the plaques, which decorated the straps of the headband. The traditional method of analogies is used for the analysis and interpretation of the material. Analysis. The type of rod cheek-pieces with two rectangular loops for fixing the rein in the central part and disc-shaped tips at the ends became widespread in the Sarmatian environment at the turn of the era. The cheek- pieces and plaques were decorated with gold foil applications. Such burials are known in the Lower and Middle Volga region, Lower, Middle and Upper Don region, Kuban and in the Crimea. The authors find the origins of the tradition of making and using bits and cheek-pieces of this type in the East, in the regions of Transbaikal, Tuva, Altai and Northern China. The analysis of the bridle allows making the conclusion that it belonged to professional warriors-riders of upscale status. Results. The appearance of such burials coincides with the process of changing Sarmatian cultures at the turn of the eras, and probably the horsemen were active participants in these historical changes. However, it is impossible to define them as an ethnic group, or even to combine them within one archaeological culture. Therefore, the authors propose to see such riders as representatives of an intertribal aristocratic military group.