Medieval hoard of horse harness from Khakassia

The article presents a hoard discovered in 2012 near the village of Katyushkino in Shirinsky District of the Republic of Khakassia. A set of ceremonial harness for saddle horse of a Medieval aristocrat is described. The composition of the hoard and its structure have been determined. The total number of objects in the set was 209. It included bronze figurines of saddle decoration made in relief, large plates (phalerae), as well as great number of strap onlays and tips, and shield-like buckles. It is concluded that this find is a hoard rather than set of items from commemorative hiding place from the burial ground of the Yenisei Kyrgyz. Brief description of this find compared to the finds from the hiding places of burial mound No.6 at the Kopyonsky chaatas is given. In terms of its composition, the Katyushkino hoard turned out to be almost completely identical to the finds from burial mound 6 at the Kopyonsky chaatas necropolis. The geographic area uniting the places where these complexes of artifacts occurred has been identified. Some parallels to the objects from the hoard appear in the Chinese toreutics of the Tang Dynasty, and the pertinent ornamental motifs from Chinese bronze mirrors, metal utensils, and fabrics, whose composition and iconography are similar to the reliefs from the Kopyonsky and Katyushkino complexes, are presented. In addition, some random finds recently made near the Kopyonsky burial ground (on the left bank of the Krasnoyarsk Reservoir) are described. The chronological framework of the objects from the hoard and possible time when they appeared on the territory of the Middle Yenisei region have been established. The search for parallels has made it possible to clarify the dating and cultural identity of the Katyushkino hoard. The set belongs to the mid 10th century, when the toreutics of the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate was distinguished by syncretism caused by its wide external connections.