Two Unusual Warrior Graves from the Scythian Period at the Zayukovo-3 Cemetery

The paper reports on two warrior graves at the Zayukovo-3 cemetery dating to the end of the 6th – first half of the 5th centuries BC. Both funerary assemblages are differentiated from all other Scythian period graves at Zayukovo-3 because of their unusual characteristics of warrior gear and the funeral rite. For example, the funerary offerings in male grave 82 included a sword and a quiver with eleven arrows, with traces of a mat recorded under the skeleton. It is significant that there is no spear in the grave, though spears were to be placed in warrior graves together with daggers. Traces of a mat were documented for the first time. Grave 105 containing weaponry stands out not only from other graves at Zayukovo-3, but also from all other funerary assemblages of the Scythian period attributed to the western Koban culture. The paleogenetic analysis shows that a woman was buried in this grave. The woman was buried face down. Judging by the presence and location of weaponry (a scabbard-end, a sword chain and a spearhead), the weapons belonged to the buried woman and were not placed into the grave as funerary offerings.