See in English:
YATSENKO S.A. Archaeological Complex with Extremely Early Banners Found in the Territory of the Former USSR (End of the I and Beginning of II Centuries AD). – In: Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia. 2001. Vol. 7, No. 1 (Leiden, Boston, Köln), pp. 45-54
(there is one mistake in the title: “…not Millenium AD”, but Centuries!).
SEE IN INTERNET (30 $):
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/157005701753359813 .
(with additngs/с дополнениями) - 2015
SUMMARY:
In 1986 Evgenii Baspalyi founded in Dachi barrow necropolis the looting king’s barrow 1 of the Early Alans near Azov town (the Mouth of Don River, Rostov Region of European Russia) (fig. 1). All grave of the late 1st-early 2nd cc. AD was destroyed by robbers. Only sthe hiding-place near the grave (0,6 x 0,6 m) was preserved with more than 16 000 golden artifacts, mostly the small applications (fig. 2). There were 4 layers of the golden applications. The most of them (11 720 rhomb-shaped applications: fig. 3, 15) decorated the rectangulat item (0,9 x 0,6 m, layers 2-3), probably - the ritual carpet. The most interesting finds in the hiding-place were two banners (figs. 4; 6). The upper banner (0,6 x 0,35 m: fig. 6,a) was decorated more then 350 applications of 4 types (fig. 5.1-3, 5). The lower banner (0,58 x 0,4 m: fig. 6, б/b) was decorated by 674 applications of 2 types (fig. 5.6-7).
Both banners have closed analogies in the culture of the Early Alans’ descandants – the Medeival Alans and Ossetians of the Northern Caucasus. The upper banner was wedding (‘chyndzy tyrysa’) according to the popular association: death=wedding. It was red or white and had the several golden ‘pendants’ (a male costume assoceries), had the rounded ends and half moons ornament up to the early 20th c. (fig. 7,c). The lower banner was funeral (‘sau tyrysa’), it was recently black (fig. 7,a). Both banners had also some analogies to the Xiongnu’ banners of that time (Noyon Uul / Noin Ula in the NE Mongolia). Third type of Alano-Ossetian banners – the battle flag of military leader we know after some medieval depictios (fig. 7, d) and ‘Nart’ epic poems.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Fig. 1. A map of Sarmatia in the 2nd half of the 1st c. AD with the points of analyzed barrows: I – points where the «kings» barrows were discovered; II – local chiefs’ barrows; III – ancient cities; IV – capitals (after Sergey A. Yatsenko).
Fig. 2. The plan of hiding-place in the barrow 1 in Dachi (after Evgenii I. Bespalyi). Беспалому)
Fig. 3. The types of gold applications (after Tamerlan A. Gabuev, 2005, 21).
Fig. 4. The silhouettes of artifacts made of organic meterials from the hiding-place: 1 – a small carpet (applications layers 2 and 3); 2 – the upper banner (applicatios layer 1); 3 - – the lower banner (applicatios layer 4).
Fig. 5. The types of golden plaques from the upper banner (1-5) and the lower banner (6-7).
Fig. 6. Banners recinstruction: а – the upper banner; b(б) – the lower banner.
Fig. 7. Banners analogies on medieval Alans and Ossetians meterials: а – the funeral benner, the 11th c. AD (the relief of the stone tomb on Krivaia River, after Vladimir A. Kuznetsov and Nikolai A. Okhonko); b – the types of funeral banners of Ossetians (after Vilen S. Uarziati); c – the wedding banner of Ossetians (after Vilen S. Uarziati); d – the battle flag (the relief of the stone tomb on Krivaia River, after Vladimir A. Kuznetsov and Nikolai A. Okhonko).