Charioteer buckles from burials at the Stantsiya Kamyshta-7 burial ground

The article discusses bronze objects described as "objects of unknown purpose” and tentatively identified as charioteer buckles, which were discovered during excavations at the burial ground of Stantsiya Kamyshta-7 ofthe Late Bronze Age in Askiz District of the Republic of Khakassia. Soil burial and burial in a stone box were found in the enclosures of burial mounds 1 and 30 respectively, built of rock fragments on the ancient day surface. The burials contained skeletons in situ positioned with their heads to the southwest on the left side, and the accompanying inventory. Ceramic vessels were placed in the western corner. Bronze knives were near the upper part ofthe femur bones, and charioteer buckles were near the pelvic bones. The shapes ofthe buckles resemble other Minusinsk finds. The buckles are very similar in design and decoration, but differ in size and preservation degree. Elongated bands of strap bronze accessories, such as onlays, buttons with a bridge, plaques with a loop, and tubular beads were found along the bones of the left arm in both graves. These finds have been identified as remains of straps which were placed around the neck or on the left arm. It is assumed that they served as a symbol of the charioteer, and a buckle was tied to them during the lifetime and burial. The discovered complex corresponds to the 11th century BC and belongs to the beginning of the third stage of the Late Bronze Age. The suggested function ofthe strap set does not contradict the idea that the object of unknown purpose might have been used for driving a chariot and shows a variant of the previously made assumptions about the purpose of loops on the frontal side of the plank "of unknown purpose.”