New discoveries in Filippovka

The paper by L.T. Yablonsky and D.V. Meshcheryakov presents new materials from Filippovka. In the season of 2005 archaeological investigations of the 1st Filippovka kurgan cemetery were continued. The site is situated in Ilek district, Orenburg region. Three burial mounds have been excavated. Two associations turned to be a sensation: it was burial of a youth buried in standing position, which is absolutely unique (kurgan 16), and burial of a young male in the central part of the underground passage (kurgan 28). The latter find evidences ritual function of similar underground passages traditionally interpreted as the traces of pillaging. Of special significance for establishing the cemetery's accurate chronology is a fragment of a golden ornament. The image it bears has its close counterparts on the seals from the Achaemenide palace treasury in Persepolis dating back to the 19th year of Xerxes' reign, that is, 467-466 BC. The investigated kurgans have yielded other objects with reliable chronology that confirm the date suggested for the cemetery - the second part of the 5th - 4th cc. BC. They include objects of high artistic value produced of precious metals.