Some Problems of Archaeological Study of the Ancient Burial Rites

Abstract. The poorly studied problems of the funeral rites’ analysis are presented on the nomadic Sarmatians data of 1st c. BC – 3rd c. AE. There is a discrepancy between the importance of paganist elements in the “living” cultures of Iranian peoples of 19th–20th cc. and archaeologists’ conclusions based on their fragmental materials. There are some problems analyzed: influence of limited resources on peculiar communities, external signs of single graves on a barrow surface, coexistence of several synchronous grave forms in one necropolis, probable rituals for negatively perceived persons, joint adult and children graves, ritual damage of swords and division of quiver’ arrows into two parts, functions of dices, wooden “binatkhtsau” boxes and some others. Types of the short swords’ special breakdown were different and correlated with the same ones known in mountain sanctuaries of the South Ural. Ritual boxes, probably, originally contained the powerful amulet “the Bead of Happiness”, which was possible “to revive the dead” (than it was disappeared). The dices made from sheep knee to 28–29 pieces were founded in male and boys’ graves; 1–2 “fortunate” dices were “used” by people of various sex and age.

Keywords: funeral rites, Sarmatians, significance of revealed rituals, rites with weapons, burials with adults and children, assigning of ritual artifacts.