Traditions of ornamental decoration on some early iron age Celts from Central Siberia

In the mid 20th century, M.P. Gryaznov elaborated a typologogy of Siberian celt axes. Over two dozen of celts dated to the 7th-3rd centuries BC belong to type IV. M.P. Zavitukhina dated similar artifacts to the 6th-5th centuries BC. A specific feature of this type is distinctive and very sophisticated ornamental decoration, which is the main subject of this article. The author has analyzed ornamental decor on 42 Early Iron Age celts from Central Siberia, described the technology of ornamentation, and identified its variants and types. Two technological traditions of ornamentation have been suggested: carving inside the casting half on raw clay, and combining carving with application of clay bands to the model of the celt. The persistence of shapes in various elements (“hoof,” “belt,” and hanging vertical lines) and their relative position on ornamentation field have also made it possible to distribute the ornamental decor into two groups according to the set of “typical” and “nontypical” compositions. Twenty three variants of ornamental patterns have been identified, and dynamics of its development has been analyzed. The tradition of carving all ornamental elements continued to exist in the early 7th century BC when type IV emerged. Later, by the late 7th - early 6th century BC, the technology slightly transformed - the “belt” and hanging lines were made by application of clay bands. By the 5th century BC, the final image of celts of type IV with the unique “hoof' -shaped ornamentation emerged along with stylized griffins on celts ' earlets.