The Materials from Ai-Todor Burial Ground in the Collection of the State Historical Museum in Moscow, from V. D. Blavatsky’s Excavations: revisiting the forgotten collection

It is the first full publication of materials from burials of the Ai-Todor burial ground excavated in 1932 and kept in the Historical Museum in Moscow. The origin of some finds from exact graves is not clear. After examination of all available data (from publications and archives), we have restored the context of most finds. We pay special attention to finds of coins and buckles that allow us to specify the chronology of the above-mentioned materials. The studied burials from the southern area of the burial ground (the latest one) can be dated to the 2nd half of the 4th — early 5th centuries. We have obtained some new evidence of contacts between the people who were buried in Ai-Todor and the Chernyaknov culture (rings with bent ends) as well as people who lived in late Sarmatian age Crimea, e. g. in Druzhnoe or Neyzats (fire striking tools).