It could have been left by Roman mercenaries – Sarmatians or Alans.
In 1906, a pommel in the shape of a boar’s head was found in one of the burials of the “Golden Cemetery” in the Kuban region, which was considered to be part of a Roman military standard. New studies have shown that its shaft does indeed come from the Mediterranean, but the radiocarbon age is much higher, and there are no direct analogies to the pommel in Roman art or among finds on the territory of the Roman Empire. This is stated in the article by Kirill Firsov and Anton Strokovwhich was published in the journal “Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology”.
In 1901–1906, on the right bank of the Kuban, in the vicinity of the villages of Kazanskaya and Tiflisskaya, about a hundred burial mounds with burials from the 1st–3rd centuries AD were excavated. Although many of them had been robbed in ancient times, the excavations yielded rich finds, so these mounds were called the “Golden Cemetery”. It also stood out for its large number of male burials with weapons and armor, as well as an abundance of items from various parts of the Roman Empire. Therefore, researchers assumed that this was a cemetery of Sarmatian or Alan warriors from a certain “squad” that was in Roman service.
The boar’s head finial was found in catacomb burial. The deceased was a man, with finds typical of the “Golden Cemetery”. Thus, he had jewelry made of this metal: a torc, a bracelet, a chain, necklace parts, medallion pendants, sewn-on plaques and beads. The grave also contained dishes of Italian origin – a silver kantharos, a bronze basin, an oinochoe and a cauldron. They also found an iron spearhead, a dagger and fragments of armor, a candelabrum and a number of other items.
The pommel in the shape of a boar’s head was one of the most expressive finds. The head itself is made of bronze, but the fangs, ears and comb are made of iron. The length of the pommel is 8.5–8.7 centimeters, the maximum width is 3.7 centimeters. The pommel was apparently placed horizontally on the shaft, and was additionally fixed inside the bushing with a special rod. Part of the shaft has been preserved inside the bushing.
Kirill Firsov from the State Historical Museum and Anton Strokov (Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Geochemistry named after Academician A.N. Zavaritsky) decided to check the version about the military-Roman origin of the bronze boar head using several methods: searching for analogies, metal analysis, radiocarbon dating, and wood research.
The most interesting results were obtained by the latter: it turned out that the shaft was made of the southern carapace, which is native to the Mediterranean (Asia Minor, the Balkans, and Southern Europe). The wood was most likely taken closer to the center of the trunk. These trees have very strong and dense wood, but it is flexible, elastic, and polishes well. Radiocarbon dating of the shaft indicated an interval between 538 and 267 BC, which does not correspond at all to the archaeological context of the top. The authors believe that this may be the “old tree” effect: the southern carapace lives a very long time – up to 500 years, and sometimes up to a thousand. Moreover, the closer to the trunk the wood is taken, the older it may be.
The bronze of the pommel is tin-lead. Brass (an alloy of copper, zinc and tin) is more typical for Roman items in the first centuries AD, but tin bronze is also found. At the same time, Roman military signs themselves have been very little studied from the point of view of metal composition. So this analysis does not clarify the origin of the Kuban find.
Roman boar standards are known from both finds and depictions, but these finials showed the animals in their entirety. A hollow boar head was found at the Roman camp of Aislingen on the Danube (Germany), but it is smaller (about 5 cm long), less detailed, and its function is unclear.
In form, the Kuban pommel is closest to the standards in the form of dragon heads, but the holes in them were through, and the shaft was inserted from below. Pieces of fabric were attached to the back of such pommels, and when air entered the dragon’s mouth, these pieces fluttered. In the “boar’s head” from the “Golden Cemetery” the hole was not through, so such use was impossible. Nevertheless, it is interesting that the appearance of “dragons” in the Roman army is associated with the influence of barbarians, including the Sarmatians. Arrian, a contemporary of the events, who repelled the invasion of the Alans in Asia Minor, also reports on such signs among the “barbarians”.
Thus, it is impossible to answer the question of where the boar’s head pommel came from at the “Golden Cemetery”. On the one hand, the wood does indicate its Roman origin. This version is supported by other “Mediterranean” finds from the burial. On the other hand, the Sarmatian-Alanian origins of the sign cannot be ruled out. This is indicated by standards with dragons similar in appearance, as already mentioned, recorded by an eyewitness among the barbarians, and from there they came to the Roman army. In this case, the Sarmatians (or Alans) could have captured the shaft during a campaign in Asia Minor. The loot from this or a similar campaign could have been Mediterranean dishes, which later ended up in the burial.
Source: www.nkj.ru
