Graves of the early medieval nomads from the eastern Azov region

Abstract Described and discussed here are the “nomadic” burials of two sites, Serbin and Udarnyi (Krasnodar Krai, Russia). A total of four graves were found at the former Serbin site, while an early medieval grave dug into a prehistoric kurgan was excavated at Udarnyi. The burials broadly date from the fourth–seventh centuries AD on the basis of their poor grave inventories and are culturally related to the so-called post-Hunnic- and Sivashovka-type burials. Three burials contained the skulls and limbs of various domestic animals, indicating that the animals had been skinned. “Head and hooves” deposits were quite common in early medieval Eastern Europe. There are several different traditions of skinning, indicating different cultural traditions. The study describes the burials and their finds, and presents their regional parallels.