The Huns in the Cimmerian Bosphorus

Abstract

The history of the Cimmerian Bosporus in the Hun Period (last third of the 4th–second third of the 5th century) remains largely unknown. Hun-style artefacts in the Eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula (arrowheads, bone bow plates, some sword types, and a diadem) and the presence of elements of burial ritual elements characteristic of the steppe zone (the placement of saddles and arrows into the grave, accompanying horse graves) in the funerary practice of the Bosporan population from the late 4th–mid-5th century are scarce evidence, reflecting only an episodic presence of Huns in the Cimmerian Bosporus. These artefacts and phenomena were associated primarily with the ‘elite’ and ‘military’ strata and, apparently, did not reach the bulk of the Hellenised population.