Karabudakhkent Burial Grounds

earthen burial grounds of different periods, with the dead buried in a flexed position, found in the vicinity of the village of Karabudakhkent (Lenin Raion, Dagestan ASSR). They were investigated by K. F. Smirnov in 1950–51. The oldest one, left by the local stock raisers, dates from the early Bronze Age (first half of the second millennium B. C.). The articles found in the burials included clay vessels and copper tools and ornaments. Several burials of the early Iron Age (about the middle of the first millennium B. C.) were uncovered nearby. Two more burial grounds (dating from the turn of the Common Era) have been left by the indigenous inhabitants, possibly the Udins. Vestiges of ancient local traditions have been traced in their culture, as well as the influence of the Sarmatians and particularly of the population of Caucasian Albania.