Metal jewelry and other metal items in the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore ("Beregovoy 4")

The paper examines jewelry and other items made of metal (bronze, silver,iron, lead) found in the Demeter and Kore-Persephone Sanctuary (Beregovoy 4, Taman'Peninsula). Jewelry pieces (bracelets, rings, pendants, beads) form a numerically small,although the most representative group of votive offerings predominantly (or exclusively)related with religious activities of the female population which worshiped goddessesof fertility. Iron rings may be an exception. Other metallic items (arrowheads, a knife,and nails) do not have a clear gender attribution, but, most likely, were linked to the so-called society's «stronger sex». We cannot exclude a possibility that not all of theseitems ended up in the sanctuary as votive gifts. However, since similar finds have beenrepeatedly documented in graves (as magic objects) and have been frequently discoveredin other sanctuaries, the finds from Beregovoy 4 can be discussed mostly as cult objects.The author draws a special attention to paired finds in some assemblages of bracelets,rings and pendants shaped as diminutive vessels as a reflection of the dualistic cultof the goddesses, the Mother and the Daughter.