ONE SET OF SILVER JEWELRY FROM THE TOMBS OF VANI

Abstract

The article examines several types of silver jewelry unearthed at the Vani site during 2002-2005, which include spherical beads, tubes of various sizes, group of hemispherical items with corrugated surfaces and pyramidal objects.

These small silver jewelry items were discovered during archaeological work in burials N22, N24, and N11, concentrated both in the area of the deceased and among other numerous burial inventory.

In Burial N22, the silver artefacts were confirmed in a cluster north of the gold-containing jar and among the horse harness assemblage.

In Burial N24, similar small silver jewelry, better preserved, were recovered near the main deceased, in one cluster, topped by a gold tube decorated with granulation.

In Burial N11, which is earlier and dates to the mid-5th century BC, small silver jewelry was represented in relatively large quantities. A group of tubes and beads was concentrated near the right arm of the main deceased. The tubes were arranged in three rows lengthwise, while the beads were in four rows.

In all three burials, the jewelry manufacturing technology is analogous, differing primarily in size. The spherical beads are smooth, slightly elongated along the axis, made by soldering two hemispheres. The silver tubes were formed by circular bending of a sheet so that the ends overlap and are not soldered. The pyramid-shaped pendants have no base, have a hole at the apex, while the edges and corners are decorated with stamped dots.

The small silver jewelry found in the Vani burials shows great similarity with the jewelry complex from Sairkhe, which is the earliest and dates to the first half of the 5th century BC. In this burial, silver jewelry was found in the head area of the main deceased, together with a gold diadem, a pair of crescent-shaped earrings, and a sewing plate.

The study provides valuable insights in several respects: 1. The arrangement of jewelry within the burials suggests their use in decorating fabric (headdress, mantle) or horse harness; 2. The silver items closely correspond to objects made of other metals (gold, bronze, iron), attesting to a long-standing tradition of jewelry forms (spanning from the 8th century BC to the 3rd century AD); 3. The discoveries once again confirm the accounts of Greco-Roman authors concerning the abundance of silver in the region