Chronological and planigraphic metal alloy composition analysis of the cross pendants from fort ilim

The article deals with the development of a relative chronology of cross pendants’ alloys, basing on the metal alloy composition analysis of 190 cross pendants from Fort Ilim. The author identifies seven stages of the necropolis formation that consecutively followed one another on this site and states that the examined area of the cemetery grew from the southern, south-eastern, and eastern parts to the west, north-west, and north directions. It is determined that sporadic location of graves is typical for the older parts of the necropolis and that within multitiered graves there is a following pattern: the absence of cross pendants in the burials of the lower tiers, the presence of cross pendants made of rare alloys in the middle tiers and the presence of cross pendants made of mass alloys in the upper tiers.