Early medieval materials from the Mukhino-2 settlement in the Upper Don region

The paper publishes early medieval materials from the Mukhino-2 settlement located in the Upper Don in the Zadonsk district, Lipetsk region. The settlement has yielded a metallic mold for making plates of the Martynovka style in the shape of a «lion» (7th century AD) (Fig 2: 1). This item finds analogies with the artifacts from a cemetery of Ryazan Finns and sites of the North Caucasus. A stone structure where a spearhead (Fig. 3: 1, 2) was found in the fill was also examined. Similar items are known among ancient artifacts attributed to the Saltovo-Mayatsk culture of the Seversky Donets region. The stone structure shares common features with the constructions at cemeteries of the North Caucasus dating to the 8th-9th centuries. A construction ascribed to the Bor-shevo culture examined in the excavation trench (Fig. 4: 1) is also dated to the same period.