Traces of grave looting activity in elite burial mound 7 at Tartas-2 cemetery (Early Iron Age, Baraba forest-steppe)

Information about the grave looters phenomenon can be found mainly in written sources. Archaeologists usually deal with looted objects and often, the time of looting can hardly be determined. At the Early Iron Age burial mound 7 at the Tartas-2 Cemetery, clear traces of looters' camp were noted in the northeastern part of the ditch. The ditch showed a hollow depression of 3.08 m wide; on its surface, a light construction resembling a hut was build (dimensions: 5.96 х 2.16 m, depth: 0.25-0.5 m from the ground level). The looters discarded abundant pottery fragments: a total of487pieces have been found, including 65 rims and 43 bottom fragments. All the pottery is flat-bottomed and show traces of manufacturing on a pottery wheel. A variety of forms indicate the multifunctional purposes of the dishes. Fragments of glass and porcelain items were found. The iron items are ofparticular interest; three knives (one of them is intact), a link of the double-bridle bits, and a rare item of a buckle with a missing tongue. Five uncovered gun flints indicate that the looters used guns; the leadflakes suggest that lead bullets may have been cast at the site. The jewel of the collection is a copper cross worn on the neck, apparently lost by one of the looters. Based on its shape, the cross can be attributed to type 1 subtype 2 in V.I. Molodin classification. Animal bones were found too.