скіфська зброя

One of the characteristic of Scythian armor decoration – bronze ends of the sheaths for swords and daggers in a shape of predatory bird’s head (eagle’s head) is on the focus of current article. Quantity of bronze bouterolles increase in recent years due to new findings in Crimea and Caucasus. Generally 20 ends of the sheaths from Nord Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Cuban’, Crimea, Northern Black Sea Cost, Middle Dnieper Region, Transylvania and Volga-Kama Region are accounted. Mapping of places of findings reveals two main hearths of bouterolles concentration: Caucasus and Crimea. In other areas only isolated findings met.   
Stylistic features of different ends of the sheaths allow distinguish 3 main types: 1-st Caucasian, 2-nd Caucasian and “Repyahovata Mohyla” type.  Caucasian types met generally in North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. “Repyahovata Mohyla” bouterolles are localized on the areas of Northern Black Sea Cost (including Crimea) and Middle Dnieper Region, i.e. on the areas of classic Scythia. Chronological analysis shows synchrony of existence of different types of ends of the sheaths within the boundaries of the end of VII-VI th centuries B.C. and doesn’t allow to allocate priority some of them. Stylistic analysis and quantity of findings reveal Caucasus as ancestral home of such kind of articles. The synthesis of early Scythians image of predatory bird’s head and early Greek griffin’s protomai produced the specific bird’s head image on ends of the sheaths on the Caucasus area.
Author argues that Crimea was the territory through which the bird’s head ends of the sheaths penetrate on the Northern Black Sea Cost and Middle Dnieper Region, i.e. on the areas of classic Scythia. “Repyahovata Mohyla” type was formed and produced in Crimean peninsula and could be considered as local for Northern Black Sea Cost and Middle Dnieper Region.