Vladimir Sarapulkin

In 2008 the archaeological expedition of Belgorod State University under the supervision of the author of the article was excavating the Mayaki ancient settlement. In the process of studying 5 phreatic burials were cleared. All of them were in coffins placed in square pits. The sculls were oriented to the North-West and South-West. In three of the burials the deceased were in supine position, in two others in flexed position on a side. The grave goods of the supine burials are presented with knives and weapon items, the flexed ones with jewelry. Remarkably, in the supine burials the anatomical order of bones was broken. Meanwhile, in the flexed burials almost all the bones were in situ. The obsequies of the barrow look very unusual for pit necropolis of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture. The nearest analogues can be found in the materials of the burial from the excavation area 8 of the Mayaki catacomb necropolis. The connection between the posture of the deceased and its sex and also the content of the grave goods typical for the Alan catacomb burials allow suggesting the Caucasus origin of the obsequies.