About metal rings of the “zubovsky-vozdvizhenskaya type” adorned with sculptured anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images

Metal rings with sculpture images of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic types are known from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries amongst findings in Sarmatian burials of “Golden Cemetery” burial ground in the region of the Kuban river. These days they present a distinctive feature of the material culture of the Zubovsky-Vozdvizhenskaya group sites. Some analogous artifacts were found in mounds of the Volga river and Don river regions. There is no single definition for the functional use of such rings. The main reason for that is the fact that they had been found mostly in graves plundered in ancient times. The researchers assume them to be finials for some wooden structure, supports for vessels or elements of horsey harness. The hypothesis concerning harness seems to be better justified. In his first reports about findings of the rings with sculptured images N.I. Veselovskiy mentioned some fragments of leather remaining around the rings. Since in many cases those findings form pairs, it seems reasonable to assume them to be some symmetrical distributors of the belts for the horsey head harness.