Cat’s Grave of the Golden Horde Time in a Kurgan on the Left Bank of the Lower Dniester

The article publishes for the first time the findings of three structures from the time of the Golden Horde, which were studied in 2019 at kurgan 1 of the “Plavni” group near the village of Glinoe. Two of these structures (burials no. 8 and 20) were pits with ledges, while the third one (pit no. 1) was a round pit. Notably, the skeleton of an adult domestic cat was discovered in burial no. 8. Evidence of a funeral feast, manifested in the form of cattle and horse bones, was recorded in all three burial sites. Additionally, fragments of Golden Horde ceramics were found in burial no. 20. Radiocarbon dating suggests that these structures were created in the last quarter of the 13 th to the early 14 th century. However, no human burials from the Golden Horde period were found in this kurgan. A series of notable graves dating from the second half of the 13 th century to the early 14 th century was examined in nearby kurgan groups, located 2 to 6 km from the structures discussed in the article. Currently, it is not possible to interpret the burial of a cat from the Golden Horde period found in the Glinoe/Plavni 1 kurgan due to the lack of similar examples. It is worth noting that this is the earliest reliably recorded burial of a domestic cat on the left bank of the Lower Dniester.