Sudzha Treasures

a group of finds discovered near the Sudzha River in the vicinity of the city of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, RSFSR.

The first find, discovered in 1918 near the village of Bol’shoi Kamenets, was mistakenly called a treasure. It was actually an assortment of gold and silver funerary objects placed in the grave of a tribal chief and included a phalera (horse’s breastplate), small decorative gold plaques, and a silver vessel of late classical workmanship with representations of the nine muses and their respective attributes. Another burial found near the same village in 1927 yielded articles made of gold: a torque decorated with colored enamel, a chain 2.5 m long, and bracelets with finials of snakes’ heads. Both burials date from the fifth century A.D. The articles are housed in the State Armory of the Kremlin in Moscow.

The second treasure was found in 1947 and consisted of bronze and silver ornaments and an iron sword, which date from the sixth and seventh centuries and belonged to a member of one of the Slavic tribes, probably the Severiane. The articles are housed in the museum of local lore in Kursk.