Pottery Traditions of Barbarian Population from the South-Western Crimea: Some Results of Research (Based on Hand-Made Pottery from Frontovoe 3 Necropolis)

The article is dedicated to summarizing and interpreting the results of hand-made pottery analysis from Frontovoe 3 necropolis. Three sets of data are discussed: 1) pottery technology data from Frontovoe 3; 2) pottery technology data from other necropolises in the South-Western Crimea; 3) traditions of vessels shaping Frontovoe 3. To interpret the research results we use data on chronological changes in the composition of funerary food in this site as well as recent methodological developments aimed at identifying the production of a “single master” based on stable skills in creating clay vessel shapes. The main conclusions drawn from this study can be summarized as follows: 1) the pottery traditions presented in underground vaults and graves with niches from the Frontovoe 3 necropolis are highly homogeneous in both manufacturing technology and creating shapes; 2) this homogeneity most likely was brought to Frontovoe 3 in a developed format by a new human collective in the second half of the 3rd — early 4th centuries, consisting of two closely related population groups — individuals buried in the vaults and representatives of the burial rite in the graves with niches.