Gold and crystal quartz brooch, 5.8 x 4.8 cm.
Found near the settlement of Mezmay in the Apsheronsk District of the Krasnodar region; in the grave nr 3.
The burial of a high social rank male warrior ranges from the late 3rd to the early 2nd century BCE, while the necropolis itself is considered as belonging to the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman eras.
“Princely Burial of the Hellenistic Period in the Mezmay Burial-Ground (North-Western Caucasus)”, Valentina Mordvintseva https://www.researchgate.net
“Gold fibula-brooch (Figs. 12; 19, 2).
The base of the brooch consists of an oval gold plate, round which there are two low chased ridges worked using an embossing technique. Soldered on to the edge is ribbed wire. Between the ridges a ring of ribbed wire smaller in diameter has been soldered on. On the outer ridge in relief decoration has been soldered on consisting of a piece of ribbed wire arranged in a U-shape (in imitation of a wreath). Wave-patterndecoration has been soldered on to the inner ridge, consisting of S-shaped scrolls made of fine ribbed wire. In the middle of the fibula is a high mount, the upper edge of which has been cut out in the form of a zigzag surrounded by pieces of ribbed wire in the form of ova. The sides of the mount are embellished with decoration worked in wire: a row of ‘plaits’ (consisting of two rows of twisted smooth wire made up of two strands), a ring of smooth wire, a row of small rings made of fine ribbed wire, a ring made from a thin ribbed bar, a row of small rings and a ring of smooth wire. Inside the mount a rock-crystal bead has been placed with a channel drilled through it from both ends. Around the mount a ring has been soldered into place between two rows of thin wire: the ring consists of ‘plaited’ wire decoration. Dimensions: 5.8 × 4.8 cm.”
Barbarians of the North Pontic Region and Their Contacts… In: Cojocaru, V. – Rubel, A. (ed.), Mobility in Research on the Black Sea Region. Cluj-Napoca 2016. (Pontica et Mediterranea VI). P. 381-432. Valentina Mordvintseva https://www.academia.edu/28344939