The Late Sarmatian Grave in the Kurgan Cemetery Near Berezovka in the Middle Don Region

Early in the early 2000s the expedition of Voronezh State Pedagogical University discovered earlier unknown funerary sites in the Middle Don region; chronologically, these sites succeeded the traditional Late Sarmatian culture in the Middle Don region that reached its final stage in the middle of the 3rd century. In 2010 a T-shaped catacomb that belonged to an Alan from Tanais was discovered near the village of Losevo on the Middle Don Left Bank, while niche burials that are contemporary with the Losevo catacomb were examined near the Berezovka village. Judging by their funerary rites and offerings, these burials follow Late Sarmatian traditions and directly precede the Hun period. In 2023 one more kurgan with a Late Sarmatian grave was excavated at the Berezovka burial ground. The funerary offerings placed in the grave, i.e. a fragment of bitumen, which is a black sticky substance, and an iron blade with cutouts, are unique for Sarmatian sites in the forest-steppe Don region. This grave adds to the list of Late Sarmatian funerary sites that preceded 5thcentury cemeteries without mounds in the Upper Don region and can be dated to the early 4th century - first decades of the 4th century.