Evgeny V. Stolyarov^1,*, Valery N. Gurianov^2,**, and Natalia A. Birkina^3,***

¹Kulikovo Field State Museum-Reserve, Tula, Russia
²Bryansk Archaeological Service LLC, Bryansk, Russia
³State Historical Museum, Moscow, Russia

*E-mail: stolarov_e@mail.ru
**E-mail: gurian032@yandex.ru
***E-mail: dulebova_natalya@mail.ru

Keywords: pectoral, Early Iron Age, Bryansk Region, Dnieper-Desna interfluve, Yukhnovo, Milograd cultures.

The find of a bronze pectoral from Bryansk Region represents a rare example of Early Iron Age metalwork from the forest zone of European Russia. The singularity of such finds makes them unique. An analysis of the pectoral’s ornamental patterns compared to the décor of other ornaments, primarily the openwork tops of bimetallic pins, and a comparison with pectoral finds among the steppe antiquities of Southern Russia make it possible to date the find in question to the 4th–3rd centuries BC and attribute it to the Yukhnovo culture. The discovery of pectorals and torques as status items of the Early Iron Age in the forest zone of European Russia may indicate certain social transformations in the social communities of the cultures from which they originated. These processes were likely influenced by the world of forest-steppe cultures.

DOI: 10.7868/S3034577426020096