page 69–79 RUS
ÓÄÊ 902.01 EDN: JGRXZS
A composite belt from the period of the First Turkic Khaganate discovered in Northern Altai
Nikolay., Seregin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Altai State University, Barnaul, Russia, nikolay-seregin@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8051-7127
Sergey S., Matrenin, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Altai State University, Barnaul, Russia, matrenins@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7752-2470
Nadezhda F., Stepanova, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia, nstepanova10@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4017-5641
Summary
The article presents the results of the analysis of an original composite belt recovered during excavations at one of the objects of the Gorny-10 necropolis, an archaeological site located in the Krasnogorsk District of the Altai Krai. The site was investigated between 2000 and 2002 by expeditions from Altai State University and the Scientific Production Centre “Nasledie”. A total of 75 burials, dating to the Early Middle Ages, were documented at the necropolis. Metal components of composite belts were identified in more than one-third of the excavated features. Among these findings, the assemblage from grave 23 stands out as particularly significant. This grave contained an undisturbed single burial of an elderly individual. The analyzed composite belt comprises an iron hook-fastener, cast bronze plaques (5 round and 9 quadrangular in shape, all lacking slits), and a pendant tip with a spoon-like outline. Based on comparative analysis with relevant analogies from early medieval sites, this assemblage is believed to have been manufactured in the second half of the 6th to the early 7th century AD. This chronological attribution is supported by the results of radiocarbon analysis. The composite belt represents a very rare and archaic example within the context of the medieval period, as it lacks prototypes in the local cultural milieu of the Great Migration Period. It has been established that the genesis of this set — originating from the northern foothills of the Altai — was primarily influenced by the tradition of manufacturing belt fittings among Turkic groups or related nomadic populations. This tradition became widespread during the period of the First Khaganate.
Keywords: Altai, composite belt, necropolis, early Middle Ages, chronology, social interpretation.
© Seregin N.N., Matrenin S.S., Stepanova N.F., 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Received 24.11.2025
Accepted 02.03.2026
Article is published: 15.06.2026
Funding. The cultural and chronological interpretation of the published complex was carried out within the framework of the RSF project No. 25-18-00775 “Complex chronology of archaeological sites of Altai (Stone Age — Middle Ages)”, https://rscf.ru/project/25-18-00775/. The processing of excavation materials from the Gorny-10 necropolis was carried out under the research project of the IAET SB RAS No. FWZG-2025-0012.
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