Marina Shemakhanskaya

Irina Rukavishnikova

Leonid Yablonsky

The unique iron sword decorated with silver details and gold incrustation comes from the new excavation of the burial mound 4 in the well-known Filippovka burial ground dated to the end of the 5th – first half of the 4th century BC. The handle of the sword is covered with images in the so-called «Scytho-Siberian» style and the blade has gold incrustation on both sides depicting scenes including hunting, immolation and a mythological story represented in graphical images of animals and humans. The sword is a masterpiece of ancient decorative and applied arts and bears interesting mythological information.