12 IC A A N E

Proceedings of the 12th International Congress

on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Volume 1
Environmental Archaeology
Hammering the material world
Cognitive archaeology
Modeling the past
Networked archaeology
Endangered cultural heritage

Harrassowitz Verlag
 Proceedings
of the 12th International Congress
on the Archaeology
of the Ancient Near East
06-09 April 2021,
Bologna

Edited by
Nicolò Marchetti, Michael Campeggi,
Francesca Cavaliere, Claudia D’Orazio,
Gabriele Giacosa, Eleonora Mariani

2023
Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden
Proceedings of the 12th International
Congress on the Archaeology
of the Ancient Near East
Volume 1

Environmental Archaeology
Hammering the Material World
Cognitive Archaeology
Modeling the Past
Networked Archaeology
Endangered Cultural Heritage

2023
Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden
Cover illustration: © David Hawkins and Giulia Roberto
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DOI 10.13173/9783447118736
 Contents of Vol. I

Nicolò Marchetti
The 12th ICAANE, Bologna: Foreword and Acknowledgments 1

Environmental Archaeology

Sandy P. Harrison, Esmeralda Cruz-Silva, Olivia Haas, Mengmeng Liu,

Sarah E. Parker, Shengchao Qiao, Yicheng Shen, Luke Sweeney
Tools and Approaches to Addressing the Climate-Humans Nexus during the
Holocene 5

Lorenzo Castellano, Douglas Campana, Pam Crabtree, Ali Gürel,

Catherine Kuzucuoğlu, Alvise Matessi, Lorenzo d’Alfonso
A Diachronic View on the Anatolian Landscape: Environment and
Economy from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman Period in The Northern
Tyanitis (Southern Cappadocia, Turkey) 45

Enrico Foietta
Seleucia on the Tigris and Its Landscape. Seleucid Water Management and
Exploitation Strategies 59

Doğa Karakaya, Birgül Öğüt

Integrated Archaeobotanical Research: Preliminary Macro- and Micro-
botanical Studies at Iron Age Sites (ca. 1200-600 BCE) in South-East Turkey 71

Anne Landskron
Anatolia from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age: A Study of Human-
Environment Dynamics (AHED) 85

Claudia Minniti, Younes Naime, Renata Perego

Preliminary Results from the Bio-archaeological Research at Tell Helawa,
South-West Erbil Plain, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (2016-2018) 99

Alberto Potenza, Claudia Minniti

New Data on the Animal Exploitation at Shahri-i Sokhta (Iran): First Results
from the Analysis of the Animal Remains Found at Workshop 33 113
VI

Eleonora Quirico
The Archaeological Landscape of Tulūl al-Baqarat. A Preliminary
Reconstruction of Its Main Transformations and Shifting Settlement
Patterns Over the Millennia 127

Liliia Sataeva, Robert Sataev, Nadezhda Dubova

Characteristics of the Grain Layer in Tomb 2900 at Gonur Depe (Early
Bronze Age, Turkmenistan) 141

Valery J. Schlegel
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Timber Resources in the ANE and
Their Impact on Achaemenid Architecture 149

Michaël Seigle
Kunara (Iraqi Kurdistan), a Town and Its Animal Environment in the
3rd Millennium BCE 161

Eleonora Serrone, Elena Maini

Zooarchaeological Analysis of the Lower Palace Area at Karkemish
(Gaziantep, Turkey): Area C from the Late Bronze II to the Iron IV Period 173

Maria Tamburrini
Settlement Patterns as a Mirror: Resilience and Renovation Subsistence
Strategies of the Southern Levant Communities in the Aftermath of the
Late Bronze Age Crisis 187

Hammering the Material World

Francesca Balossi Restelli

From Pottery Manufacture and Use to Social Relations at the Beginning
of Full-Time Craftsmanship. The Case of Late Chalcolithic 3-4 Arslantepe
(3900-3400 BCE), South-Eastern Turkey 201

Sawssan Alachkar
Analysis of Ceramic Data from a Survey in the Upper Khabur (Syria):
Some Preliminary Results on the Early Bronze Age 217

Emilie Badel
The Production of Bituminous Limestone Objects during the 4th and
3rd Millennia BC at Susa (Khuzestan) 231

Blandine Besnard
Egyptians and Hygienic Practices in the Southern Levant: Evidence for the
Earliest Washroom Facilities and Their Uses during the Late Bronze Age
(ca. 1550-1130 BCE) 249
 VII

Iolanda Cacozza
Another Plaster on the Wall. A Preliminary Analysis of Wall Coatings
at Uşaklı Höyük 265

Sabina Calderone
Middle Iron Age Ceramic Production inside the Kızılırmak Boundary.
The Pottery Inventory of Ușaklı Höyük 277

Giacomo Casucci
Hittite Cuisine: Fire Installations, Cooking Pots and Foodways in
Central Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age 289

Alessandra Cellerino
Ceramic Innovations and Conservatisms in Hellenizing Elymais:
The Glazed Pottery from Shami 301

Nadezhda A Dubova, Alexey V. Fribus, Nataliya N. Skakun, Sergey P.

Grushin, Vera V. Terekhina, Anatoliy M. Yuminov, Robert M. Sataev,
Vitalya A. Agakhanova, Yazgul’ K. Tirkishova
Stone Miniature Columns, Disks and Scepters from the Polity of
Margush (Bronze Age Turkmenistan) 315

Setareh Ebrahimiabreghi
Shahr-i Sokhta, an Early Bronze Age Proto-Urban Settlement in Sistan
and Its Satellite Village of Tepe Sadegh 327

Alexey V. Fribus, Sergey P. Grushin, Robert M. Sataev, Nadezhda A. Dubova,

Muhammed Begliev
New Iconographic Discoveries from the Renewed Excavations at the
Bronze Age Site of Gonur Depe (Turkmenistan) 339

Claudio Giardino, Carlo Bottaini, Conrad Schmidt

The Earliest Copper Smelting Activity in South-Eastern Arabia. Some
Preliminary Results from Al-Khashbah 351

Amir Golani, Giulia Tucci

The Positive of the Negative. The Diffusion of Late Bronze Age
Syro-Canaanite Jewelry on the Basis of Two-Part Stone Molds in the
Southern Levant 365

Özlem Heper
A Glimpse into the Hittite Culinary Culture and Consumption Habits
through Statistics of Tableware and Cooking Ware 381
VIII

Susanne Kerner
The Early Bronze Age Murayghat Bowls: An Example of Commensal
Eating? 393

Tatsundo Koizumi, Hitoshi Ojima, Yuji Sogabe

An Experimental Firing Study of Clay and Pigments Replicating Materials
of Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic Artefacts 403

Konstantinos Kopanias, Erato Vemou, Katerina Sidiropoulou

3D Model Analysis of LBA and EIA Swords from the Near East 421

Sergey Makhortykh
The Scythians and Urartu 435

Sidonia Obreja
Depositional Patterns of Temple Artifacts at Mari during the City II Period,
2550-2300 BC 449

Ida Oggiano, Marianna Castiglione

From the Chemical Composition of Clay to the Performance of Rituals.
The Case of the Terracotta Figurines from the Phoenician Cult Place of
Kharayeb (Lebanon) 463

Claire Padovani
Kiln Technology and Potters’ Agency in the Early Bronze Age: The Social
Construct of Logardan Firing Areas, Western Qara Dagh 475

Türkan Pilavcı
The Role of the Arm Shaped Vessels in Rituals: The Hand Holding the Cup
in Hittite Libations 491

Razok Souheb Talal

Copper-Based Objects in the Jezirah during the Third Millennium BC:
Types, Fabrication Techniques and Origins 509

Mona Saba
Crater Fragments with Lion Figures from Oluz Höyük 525

Robert Sataev, Liliia Sataeva, and Nadezhda Dubova

Building Technologies at the Bronze Age Site of Gonur Depe
(Turkmenistan) on the Basis of the Study of Its Palace 541

Kazuya Shimogama, Hirotoshi Numoto

Fixing the Time of Middle Bronze Age Pottery and Cuneiform Texts: New
Evidence from Tell Taban, North-Eastern Syria 547
 IX

Anna Smogorzewska
Morphological and Technological Characteristics of the Neolithic Pottery
from Bahra 1 (Kuwait) 559

Sebastiano Soldi
Red Slip Pottery from Zincirli: Connecting Syria and Anatolia in
the Iron Age II 571

Alexey A. Tishkin, Nadezhda A. Dubova, and Nikolay N. Seregin

Results of X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Metallic Items from the
Archaeological Complex of Gonur Depe (Turkmenistan) 583

Cognitive Archaeology

Benedetta Bellucci
Symmetry and Duplication in Hittite Seals 597

Ilaria Bucci
An Archaeological Approach to Pictorial and Textual Graffiti from Hatra, 609
Northern Iraq (2nd-3rd Century CE)

Mattia Cartolano
Reading Animal and Human Representations in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
of the Near East 625

Cloe Curcio
Ancient Mesopotamia: A Sacred Landscape? 641

Claudia D’Orazio
Archaeological Evidence for the Sealing of Goods in the Northern Levantine
and North Mesopotamian Sphere during the Late Bronze II Period 651

Tiffany Ftaimi
An Assyrian Artistic Concept or Interculturality? The Iconography of the
Storm God during the Neo-Assyrian Period 665

Jean-Claude Margueron, Béatrice Muller

Restitution virtuelle en 3D, méthodes, ressources et limites: le Grand Palais
Royal de Mari 677

Chiara Pappalardo
Visualizing Ancestral Landscapes: A Cognitive Approach to Kura-Araxes
Necropolises in the Southern Caucasus 691
X

Margaux Spruyt
Horses in Neo-Assyrian Reliefs: Observing Physical Types and Their
Development 705

Elisabeth Wagner-Durand
How to Build Fear? An Emotive View to the Cityscape of Khorsabad 719

Yasaman Nabati Mazloumi

Iconography of Winged Figures on Parthian Coins: State Uniformity or
Religious Conflict? 733

Modeling the Past

Adonice-A. Baaklini
Modeling the Diffusion of the Assyrian Culture in the Iron Age Near East.
The Kingdom of Hamat as a Case Study 745

Corinne Castel
Monumental Architecture at the Margins of the Syrian Desert. The Early
Bronze Age IV Sanctuary of Tell Al-Rawda: Spatial Analysis, Functions,
and Rituals 759

Barbara Chiti
Urbanization versus Urbanism. New Insights on the Emergence of the
Urban Phenomenon in Syria at the Turn of the 4th and 3rd Millennium BCE 777

Georg Cyrus
The Production of Space in the Iron Age Squatter Occupation of
Godin Tepe 791

Bruno Genito, Lucia Cerullo

The Archaeology of Iran in the First Millennium BCE. New Issues for
an Old Question 805

Deborah Hope
Pearl Profusion: Economic Consequences of Large-Scale Pearl Production
and Trade in the Imperial Roman Age 825

Martina G. M. Massimino
Identifying Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Metal Communities
in Anatolia and Northern Mesopotamia through Networks 839
 XI

Federica Spagnoli
Temples in the Sacred Area of the Kothon at Motya and Their Levantine
Prototypes: Recent Discoveries by Sapienza University of Rome 855

Agnese Vacca, Marta D’Andrea

The Ebla Region from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age: Reading Socio-
Cultural Changes in Settlement Patterns and Material Culture 879

Networked Archaeology

Francesca Cavaliere
3D GIS as a Time Capsule for Decaying Monuments: The Case of
Sennacherib’s South-West Palace at Nineveh 897

Carmen del Cerro Linares, Carlos Fernández Rodríguez

Photogrammetry Works at al Madam (Sharjah, UAE) during the
2019 Season 907

Nicolò Marchetti, Pietro Baldassarri, Silvano Bertossa, Valentina Orrù,

Marco Valeri, Federico Zaina
FloodPlains. Developing a Public Archaeological WebGIS for the
Southern Mesopotamian Alluvium 921

Vito Messina
Multiscale Collaborative Approaches to Archaeological Research for
Community Engagement: The Projects SigNet, (in)visible Collections
and Afterlife 939

Jacopo Monastero
Developing New Dimensions in Documentation: 3D Data Management
at Karkemish 951

Endangered Cultural Heritage

Letizia Cerqueglini
Toward a Linguistic Archaeology of the Southern Levant: Non-Arabic
Names of Utensils and Landscape Elements in Traditional Palestinian
Dialects 965

Hashem Khries, Jutta Häser, Bernard Beitz

DOJAM–A Project for Protecting the Cultural Heritage in Jordanian
Museums 977
XII

Nicolò Marchetti, Çiğdem Maner, Federico Zaina, Licia Proserpio,

Burcu Sarsılmaz Coşan, Hayder Kareem Al-Hamdani, Mohammed
Abdulsada Al-Hashimi, Laith Majeed Hussein, Adelheid Otto
How Can International Partnerships Support the Study of Archaeology
in Iraq? The Case Study of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building KA 2
Project “WALADU” 989

Daria Montanari, Eman Z. Titi, Mohammed Ghayyada, Gaia Cecconi,

Maria Tamburrini, Alessandra Guari, Pierfrancesco Izzo, Jehad Yassine,
Lorenzo Nigro
Bethlehem. Rescue Excavations 2015–2020 by Sapienza University of
Rome and the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities 1003

Ousama Rumayed
Dedicated ICT Tools to Help Heritage Professionals Register, Retrieve
and Share Data about Areas in Conflict: The Case Study of Aleppo 1017

Galina E. Veresotskaya, Nataliya A. Kovaleva, Mukhmmed A. Mamedov,

Nadezhda A. Dubova, Jannet S. Karanova
Conservation, Restoration and Reconstruction of the Bronze Age
Paintings with Mosaic Inlays from Gonur Depe, Turkmenistan 1035
 The Scythians and Urartu
Sergey Makhortykh1

Abstract
The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of Scythian antiquities of the 7th-6th centuries
BC, which were found in two of the best-studied Urartian fortresses. One of them (Ayanis) is
located near the eastern shore of Lake Van (Turkey), and the other (Karmir-Blur) on a hilltop
in the outskirts of Yerevan (Armenia).

Introduction
The presence of Scythians in the Near East is due to important events in the early history of
this nomadic people. In the 7th-6th centuries BC nomads came into active contact with vari-
ous state formations of Western Asia, which undoubtedly had an impact on their historical
trajectory and material culture. A notable example was the interaction between Scythians
and the kingdom of Urartu, which emerged in the 9th century BC and occupied mountainous
areas stretching from the eastern region of present-day Turkey through the territory of mod-
ern Armenia to north-western Iran. The above-mentioned cultural interaction is reflected in
numerous archaeological finds of Scythian type recovered in Urartian fortresses. One of the
related issues, the fall of the Urartian kingdom and the disuse of the fortresses, is the subject
of ongoing debate. A discussion of the recovery of Scythian cultural materials at these for-
tresses is both timely and necessary.
This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the recovered Scythian antiquities of
the 7th-6th centuries BC at two of the best studied Urartian fortresses. One of them, Ayanis,
is located near the eastern shore of Lake Van, and the other, Karmir-Blur, on a hilltop in the
outskirts of Yerevan. Both sites were founded in the first half of the 7th century BC by the
Urartian king Rusa II, 685-645 BC (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001). Rusa II seems to have
been a well-regarded Urartian ruler, under whom Urartu was at the pinnacle of prosperity and
military power. The reign of Rusa II is associated with active building activity, expressed in
the construction of several fortresses and irrigation systems (Salvini 1995; Çilingiroğlu 2002;
Kroll et al. 2012). Owing to skillful diplomacy, he managed to maintain stable, and generally
peaceful, relations with neighbors, including Assyria and the mounted nomads visiting this
region.
Several categories of the Scythian materials discovered in the Urartian fortresses are pre-
sented in this paper: bronze socketed arrowheads, zoomorphic scabbard chapes, details of
horse harness (cheekpieces, harness fittings).

1 Institute of Archaeology, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.

DOI: 10.13173/9783447118736.435
436 Sergey Makhortykh

Bronze Socketed Arrowheads

One of the most representative collections of arrows found in the territory of Urartu was
recovered at Ayanis, which, due to ongoing excavations, continues to grow every year. This
collection numbers at least 160 socketed examples. Most of the arrowheads were found along
the fortification walls, on both sides of the west tower and outside the gate area. The location
of these arrowheads probably indicate they belong to enemies attacking the castle. Scythian
arrowheads were also unearthed within the site itself (temple and domestic areas) (Figs. 1,
2.1-39) (Derin and Muscarella 2001; Çilingiroğlu 2005; Özdemir and Işıklı 2017). The ar-
rows are mainly represented by socketed bibladed specimens with rhomboid or oval heads
as well as with or without a barb or spur extending from the socket behind the blade (Figs. 1,
2.1-33). The arrowheads are quite massive, varying largely from 4.2 to 5 cm in length.2
Analogies to biblade arrowheads from Ayanis, and in particular to rhomboid specimens
with a barb and oval-shaped ones without a barb, have been recovered at other Urartian
fortresses. For example, at Bastam such arrowheads have been found but are not numerous
(n=10) and often come from mixed layers, therefore they are not always connected with reli-
able archaeological contexts (Kroll 1979; 1988: figs. 3-4, pl. 37.5).
Exemplars with rhomboid heads constitute the rather big group of arrowheads found at
Ayanis (Fig. 2.1-15). Taking into account the date of the destruction of the fortress (sometime
after 650 BC) (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001; Derin and Muscarella 2001), these arrows help
clarify the chronological framework of similar arrowheads found in the south of Eastern
Europe, as e.g., in my opinion, those in Kurgan 524 near the Zhabotin village, dated incor-
rectly to the middle of the 8th century BC (e.g. Ryabkova 2014).
In the Near East, the socketed arrowheads with rhomboid heads were also recovered at
Nineveh (end of the 7th century BC), at Kerkenes Dağ (first half of the 6th century BC) as well
as at other sites (Pickworth 2005: fig. 35; Summers 2017). In south-eastern Europe, these ar-
rowheads have been discovered in burials of nomadic individuals dating to the second half of
the 7th century BC and to the first half of the 6th century BC: Kholmskaya, Kurgan 4, Burial 1
(north-western Caucasus); Novoaleksandrovka, Kurgan 7, Burial 8 (Low Don area); Karpusi,
Kurgan 1, Burial 1 (Vorskla river basin), etc. (Маkhortykh 2021). However, such arrows, due
to the long period of their use, cannot serve as reliable markers for chronologically dividing
sites into pre-Kelermes and Kelermes, as well as for restricting the date of the archaeological
assemblages to the middle of the 7th century BC.
Biblade arrowheads with rhomboid and oval-shaped heads were also found at Karmir-
Blur (Маkhortykh 1991; Ryabkova 2009). However, at this site, where more than 120 bronze
socketed arrowheads were unearthed, triblade specimens of various modifications dominate
the assemblages. This fact, along with other chronologically “late” Scythian materials, sig-
nificantly distinguishes Karmir-Blur from Ayanis. The presence of more archaic varieties of
biblade arrowheads at Karmir Blur can be explained by their long existence throughout most
of the 7th century BC or the recovery of diachronically diverse forms of Scythian materials at
this site, which was used by nomads as a kind of base for a long period (Маkhortykh 2018:
46). Among the triblade arrowheads recovered at Karmir-Blur, the most numerous specimens
have an oval-shaped head, short and long sockets with or without a barb, as well as the arrows

2 It is worth mentioning the single biblade arrows of other types with a long socket from Ayanis (Fig. 2.34-
35). Three bronze triblade and one trilobate solid arrowheads (Fig. 2.36-39) were also unearthed (Derin
and Muscarella 2001; Özdemir and Işıklı 2017).
 The Scythians and Urartu 437

of elongated proportions with the maximum width in the lower part of the blades, which are
often beveled (Figs. 3.1-4, 12-19, 4.11-13) (Azarpay 1968; Ryabkova 2009). Other types of
triblade arrowheads recovered are represented by small arrowheads with a wide, triangular
shaped head and a long socket, as well as other specimens with a vaulted and trapezoidal
head and a slightly prominent socket (Fig. 4.14-17).
The triblade arrowheads from Karmir-Blur find analogies in the destruction layers of Near
Eastern cities, such as at Assur, Nineveh, and Karkemish, dating to the late 7th century BC (Fig.
4.1-9) (Woolley 1921; Andrae 1977; Pickworth 2005). Similar arrowheads are also found in
the Scythian burials of Eastern Europe where they refer to contemporary or later periods (first
half of the 6th century BC), including: Novozavedennoe II, Kurgans 5, 13; Nartan, Kurgans 15,
17, 23; Kitajgorod burial mound; Repyakhovataya Mogila, etc. (Fig. 3.5-11, 20-28). Biblade
and triblade socketed arrowheads similar to specimens found at Karmir-Blur were also recov-
ered in layers of the first half of the 6th century BC, such as at the well-stratified settlements
of Berezan and Trakhtemirov in the Northern Black Sea region (Ilina and Chistov 2012).
The above data on arrowheads from Ayanis and Karmir-Blur demonstrate their significant
difference from each other, reflected in the study of the biblade and triblade arrowheads
found at these sites, and in the identified different typological characteristics of the latter.
Chronological distinction between these types, as well as the historical events that led to
the fall of the Urartian fortresses, make clear connections between the forms of interactions
between Scythians and the Urartian fortresses discussed above. This conclusion is confirmed
by a comparative analysis of other categories of Scythian material culture from Ayanis and
Karmir-Blur, which will be discussed below.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that a hypothesis supported by some researchers (Kroll
1984; Medvedskaya 1992; Ivanchik 2001; Ryabkova 2009) about the simultaneous destruc-
tion of Urartian fortresses and the total collapse of Urartu around the middle or even at the
beginning (!) of the 7th century BC is not confirmed by archaeological evidence. It should
be also mentioned that B. Piotrowski (1959: 186) and I. Dyakonov (1956) dated the fall of
Urartu to the beginning of the 6th century BC. However, they relied to a greater extent not on
archaeological materials, but on the evidence of written sources. It is also worth mentioning
U. Hellwag’s paper that summarizes nearly all existing points of view about the dates and
causes of the fall of Urartu (Hellwag 2012).

Scabbard Chapes
A bone end of scabbard from Ayanis has a rounded shape with tapering and emphasized
upper edge that forms its orifice (Fig. 5.1). This object is decorated with an image of coiled
animal that has a massive head and elongated muzzle of sub-rectangular shape with an open
mouth, the ear arranged in the form of a semicircle. The eye, nostril, paw, and tail endings
are shaped of concentric circles. The front paw is raised up and tightly pressed to the neck,
while its end touches the base of the lower jaw. The tail and hind leg are situated parallel to
each other in the horizontal plane and adjoin the tail and the chin, and – the hind leg with the
knee joint of the front leg. The round shape and distinguished orifice connect the find from
Ayanis with the gold end of the scabbard from the Kelermes Kurgan 1/Sh, as well as a bone
chape, presumably originating from Iran and kept in the Barbier-Mueller collection (Geneva,
Switzerland) (Fig. 5.3-4) (Galanina 1997; Barbier 1996).3

3 See also https://www.barbier-mueller.ch/collections/collections/antiquite/art-des-steppes/?lang=en.

438 Sergey Makhortykh

Direct analogies to the image of an animal on the end of scabbard from Ayanis are not
known.4 However, in some pictorial details (a massive head with an open mouth, the decora-
tion of the eye, nostril, tail, and the ends of paws by emphasized circle), it resembles closely
the image of an animal on a gold sword belt tip from the Kurgan 1/Sh of Kelermes (Fig. 5.2).
The identity of the species is quite peculiar, being more reminiscent of a dog or wolf image
than of a feline predator, which must be accounted for when considering the origin of the
motif of a coiled animal in Scythian animal style art.
The same is true for some images of the heads of curled animals without clear signs of a
feline predator on bronze plaques from the Minusinsk Hollow in southern Siberia; many of
which, unfortunately, are chance finds, with the date of their manufacture unknown (Fig. 5.5-6).
A chape from Ayanis is the only known reliable example from the Near Eastern finds
that reproduces a curled predator, whose eye, nostril, tail, and paw endings are decorated
with concentric circles. The above-mentioned zoomorphic scabbard end from the Barbier-
Mueller collection, presumably originating from Iran, also attracts attention (Fig. 5.4). The
eye and ends of the predator’s paws on it are also depicted by concentric circles, and a large
tear-shaped ear, turned with a sharp end down, is similar to the ear of the famous Kelermes
panther as well as the boar from Ephesus.
In the eastern regions of Eurasia, the eyes, nostrils, and ends of the paws of images of
feline predators dated to the 7th century BC were rarely decorated with circular ornamenta-
tion. For example, they are presented on the horse harness from Kurgans 27 and 28 of the
Ujgarak cemetery in the Aral Sea area (Fig. 5.7-9). In my opinion, such images could have
appeared in this territory due to participation of the local Saka tribes in Near Eastern military
campaigns. The Near Eastern vector of contact is also confirmed by similar artistic styles of
the Ujgarak plaques, including emphasizing depictions of front paw musculature by a high-
lighted line (Fig. 5.8-9).
The archaeological context allows us to consider the zoomorphic chape recovered in
Ayanis as the oldest Scythian image of a curled predator known in Western Asia.
A bone end of a scabbard, decorated with the image of a coiled animal, was also recovered
in Karmir-Blur (Fig. 6.1). It reproduces an animal with a hypertrophic, enlarged head, that
occupies almost the whole side of its surface. The eye, composed of concentric circles with
a dot in the middle, as well as an ear in the form of a horse hoof sole are visible on the head.
The front part of the animal’s muzzle is depicted in the form of two semi-ovals with their tops
facing in opposite directions.
Compared to the zoomorphic scabbard end from Ayanis, the image on the chape from
Karmir-Blur is more schematic. Stylization appears as enlarged representation of one ele-
ment (head) and the loss or levelling of others (tail). The closest parallels to the image of a
coiled predator on the scabbard end from Karmir-Blur, including the presence of hypertroph-
ic elements (large head with an eye shaped in the form of concentric circles and heart-shaped
ear), are found on the zoomorphic chapes from Sardis (Turkey), Ziwiye (Iran) and Darevka
(Ukraine) (Fig. 6.2-4).
All these findings have a direct relation to the presence of East European nomads in
Western Asia. The images on the chapes from Karmir-Blur and Darevka are similar in sche-
matically depicted short paws that are situated parallel to each other, which are a continuation

4 The interpretation of an animal on the zoomorphic scabbard chape as an image of a horse (Çilingiroğlu
2018: 21) seems to me erroneous.
 The Scythians and Urartu 439

of the unnaturally placed thigh and shoulder of the animal. The listed objects from Karmir-
Blur, Darevka, and Sardis should be attributed to an independent and younger composi-
tional-pictorial group of images of coiled animals dating to the second half of 7th-early 6th
centuries BC. The main territory of its distribution is Western Asia and south-eastern Europe.
This modification of the image in question does not find analogies in the eastern regions of
Eurasia in the Scythian archaic period.

Horse Harness
At Ayanis, bridle accessories are represented by an iron cheekpiece and a fragment of bone
zoomorphic psalia (Figs. 7.1, 8.8) (Işıklı, Öztürk and Parliti 2016).5
The iron cheekpiece belongs to three-looped, rod-shaped type with evenly cut ends. Its
closest analogies are known in Central Ciscaucasia: Krasnoe Znamya, Kurgans 1 and 3.
They are mainly dated to the second half of the 7th century BC (Fig. 7.2-3) (Petrenko 2006;
Makhortykh 2014).
Iron cheekpieces in the form of straight rods are also known in the Scythian burials of
the Dnieper forest-steppe area, including Zhurovka, Kurgan 406; Volkovtsy, Kurgan 12; and
Saranchevo pole, Kurgan 11 (Makhortykh 2014: fig. 8.1). However, in contrast to the North
Caucasian examples, their ends often have thickenings or knobs (Fig. 7.4). The date of these
objects is determined from the second half of 7th to mid-6th centuries BC.
As for the bone zoomorphic psalia from Ayanis, decorated with the image of a ram’s head,
its closest analogies are known among the bridle accessories of Kelermes Tumuli 1/V and
2/V in the Kuban region, which are presumably dated within the 660-640 BC time range (Fig.
8.6-8) (Galanina 1997).
Iron and bone cheekpieces were also found at Karmir-Blur. Iron cheekpieces are repre-
sented by three-looped specimens with a curved upper end (Piotrowski 1950). Analogies are
well known in the Scythian burials of the North Caucasus and forest-steppe Ukraine, where
they were in use during the second half of the 7th and the first half of the 6th centuries BC
(Makhortykh 2014).
Bone cheekpieces belong to the three-hole type with an animal hoof on the lower end and
a wide rectangular protrusion in the middle of the bar (Fig. 7.6-7). The closest parallels to the
bone cheekpieces from Karmir-Blur are known at the Greek Berezan settlement (semi-dug-
out SK 44), that, due to numerous antique imports, are reliably dated to the first half of the
6th century BC (Fig. 7.5).
Besides the bits and cheekpieces, the representative series of harness fittings (more than
20 items) comes from Karmir-Blur. Among them the earlier and later varieties are distin-
guished. They are characterized by significant diversity, which is probably explained by the
long-lasting contacts between the nomads and local inhabitants of the fortress. Karmir-Blur
was probably used by nomads as a kind of base for quite a long time (including the 6th centu-
ry BC), leading to the deposition of Scythian materials from different chronological periods
(Маkhortykh 2018: 46).
Of interest is a bone harness fitting, decorated with ram’s head and beak of a bird of prey
recovered in room 11 of Karmir-Blur (Fig. 8.3). In Western Asia, typologically similar ob-
jects have been found in a horse burial at Norşuntepe in the Upper Euphrates (Fig. 8.4-5). At
the same time, the fittings from Karmir-Blur and Norşuntepe differ from each other by the

5 See also http://ayaniskalesikazisi.com.

440 Sergey Makhortykh

presence or absence of an ear image, strongly or weakly curved beak, and plain or ornament-
ed horns protruding above the forehead or inscribed into the surface of the object. In addition,
the number of holes for cross-belts differ. The formal-stylistic features noted above likely
indicate different chronological periods for these finds.
The harness fittings from Norşuntepe look more archaic and, given their similarity with
the North Caucasian and Ukrainian finds, can be dated to the middle – second half of the 7th
century BC, while the Karmir-Blur example is apparently later and belongs to the end of the
7th – beginning of the 6th centuries BC (Маkhortykh 2018).
In Karmir-Blur there were also several harness fittings decorated with a ram’s head recov-
ered (Fig. 8.1-2). The main area of distribution of attachments of this type is south-eastern
Europe (16 items) (Маkhortykh 2017). The specimens found have different iconographies
and materials of manufacture. In the Kuban area (Kelermes cemetery), the oldest zoomorphic
bone fittings are concentrated and date to the second half – the end of the 7th century BC.
More schematic bronze bridle ornaments, most dating to the first half – middle of the 6th cen-
tury BC, are found in the Dnieper forest-steppe region (Popovka, Kurgan 10; Zakhareikova
Mogila; Gulyai-Gorod, Kurgan 38, etc.).
It should be noted that the bone and bronze harness fittings from Karmir-Blur also differ in
detailed depictions of animals. For example, the bone specimen has a more detailed muzzle
and eye (Fig. 8.1-2). Simultaneously, the bone attachment with a ram’s head from Karmir-
Blur differs from the Kelermes bone specimens of the same type. Transcaucasian fittings
have a shorter and less curved horn inscribed into the surface of the object. They do not have
an ear image and their mouth and nose are less thoroughly elaborated. The latter are either
not highlighted or shown as a slot, in contrast with the double arcs depicting the mouth and
nose in Kelermes.
It is notable that analogies to the bronze harness fittings from Karmir-Blur, usually deco-
rated with the image of a ram’s head and a thin long beak-shaped protrusion, are found not
in the North Caucasus, but in the Ukrainian forest-steppe in burials of the 6th century BC
(Gulyai-Gorod, Kurgan 38; Zakhareikova Mogila; etc.). These parallels indicate the possibil-
ity of the presence of Scythian military units from the Dnieper forest-steppe area in Karmir-
Blur. They could carry out autonomous raids into Transcaucasia and the Near East without
the participation of nomads from the North Caucasus (Маkhortykh 2018).

Conclusions
Summarizing the above data, it is possible to make several observations. The Urartian for-
tresses Ayanis and Karmir-Blur contain numerous Scythian artifacts. These artifacts include
weapons (bronze socketed arrowheads), trappings (iron and bone cheekpieces, harness fit-
tings, etc.), and other objects decorated in the Scythian animal style. They constitute an im-
portant source of archaeological data and serve as an independent chronological indicator
that advances our current understanding of periodization and nature of the cultural interac-
tions between the nomads and various Near Eastern states.
The typological and chronological analysis of the Scythian antiquities in the Urartian
historical and cultural context indicates that these materials belong to different time peri-
ods. This analysis also allows us to identify earlier and later sets of artifacts. The evidence
from Ayanis refers to the oldest finds and are associated with earlier contacts between the
Scythians and Urartu in the second to the beginning of the third quarter of the 7th century BC.
 The Scythians and Urartu 441

These materials are represented by bilobate arrowheads with rhomboid and oval-shaped
heads, a scabbard chape decorated with the image of a curled animal without clear features
associated with feline predators, iron straight three-looped and bone zoomorphic cheekpieces
ornamented with an image of a ram’s head. By contrast, nomadic materials from Karmir-Blur
are more recent and are indicative of active contacts between the Urartians and the Scythians
in the second half of the 7th century BC and the beginning of the 6th century BC. Artifacts
from this chronological horizon include a wide range of bronze socketed arrowheads, in
particular numerous trilobate arrowheads with various modifications, a bouterolle decorated
with a schematic image of a curled predator, three-hole bone cheekpieces with the animal
hoof on the lower end, and a rectangular protrusion in the middle of the bar, bronze zoomor-
phic harness fittings ornamented with an image of a ram’s head, etc.
Thus, available data do not confirm the hypothesis about the simultaneous destruction of
Urartian fortresses and the complete destruction of Urartu in the middle of the 7th century BC.
New research will clarify the question of the historical fate of the various regional formations
within Urartu at the final stage of its existence, which were likely not identical and had their
own specifics in the areas adjacent to lakes Van, Urmia, and Sevan.

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Fig. 1: Bronze biblade arrowheads

from Ayanis (Çilingiroğlu 2005:
fig. 1)

Fig. 2: Bronze socketed arrow-

heads from Ayanis (not to scale)
(Derin and Muscarella 2001: fig. 7;
Özdemir and Işıklı 2017: figs. 3, 5)
 The Scythians and Urartu 445

Fig. 3: Bronze triblade

arrowheads from Karmir-
Blur and their East
European analogies: 1-4,
12-19 – Karmir-Blur; 5-11 –
Novozavedennoe П, Kurgan
5; 20-25 – Repyakhovataya
Mogila, Burial 2; 26-28 –
Kitaigorod (not to scale)
(Ilinskaya, Моzolevskiy
and Теrenozhkin 1980:
fig. 14; Petrenko 1990:
fig. 2; Ryabkova 2009: fig.
1; Romashko, Skorij and
Filimonov 2014: fig. 3)

Fig. 4: Bronze socketed arrow-

heads from Karmir-Blur and its
Near Eastern analogies: 1-10 –
Karkemish; 11-18 – Karmir-Blur
(not to scale) (Woolley 1921: pls.
22-23; Ryabkova 2009: figs. 1-3)
446 Sergey Makhortykh

Fig. 5: Ends of the scabbards, plaques

and sword belt tip decorated with zoo-
morphic images:

1 – Ayanis;
2-3 – Кеlermes, Kurgan 1/Sh;
4 – Iran;
5 – Shunery;
6 – Yagunya, Kurgan 11;
7-8 – Ujgarak, Kurgan 28;
9 – Ujgarak, Kurgan 27 (not to scale)

(Vishnevskaya 1973: fig. 10; Piotrowski,

Galanina and Gratsch 1986: fig. 8;
Barbier 1996: fig. 7; Galanina 1997: pl.
9; Bogdanov 2006: fig. 2; Çilingiroğlu
2018: fig. 12)

Fig. 6: Bone and metal scabbard

chapes decorated with images of a
coiled animal:

1 – Karmir-Blur;
2 – Darevka;
3 – Sardis;
4 – Ziwiye (not to scale)

(Bobrinskoy 1894: fig. 13;

Ghirshman 1964: fig. 157;
Piotrowski 1970: fig. 96; Dusinbere
2010: fig. 2)
 The Scythians and Urartu 447

Fig. 7: Iron and bone cheekpieces:

1 – Ayanis;
2 – Кrasnoe Znamya, Kurgan 1;
3 – Кrasnoe Znamya, Kurgan 3;
4 – Saranchevo pole, Kurgan 11;
5 – Berezan settlement
  (semi-dugout SK 44);
6,7 – Karmir-Blur (not to scale)

(Piotrowski 1950: fig. 61; Petrenko

2006: fig. 48; Ilina and Chistov
2012: fig. 53; Makhortykh 2014: fig.
8; Işikli, Öztürk and Parliti 2016:
fig. 6)

Fig. 8: Zoomorphic harness

fittings and ends of the
cheekpieces:

1-3, 9 – Karmir-Blur;
4, 5 – Norşuntepe;
6, 7 – Kelermes;
8 – Ayanis;
10 – Shumejko; (not to
 scale)

(Galanina 1997: fig. 22;

Schmidt 2002: pl. 68;
Ryabkova 2012: table 1;
Işikli, Öztürk and Parliti
2016: fig. 6; Makhortykh
2018: fig. 4)