Images of solar symbols from the Dysh IV burial ground

A specific group of materials was studied during excavations of the Dysh IV burialground. Several finds featuring solar symbols from one kurgan were used to trace the process of “passing of the cultural torch” from the population of a “classical” Novocherkassk cultural assemblage to the population attributed to proto-Scythian cultural traditions, i. e. newcomers who arrived from the east and who for some reason managed to get adapted quickly to the local environment. The discussion of the roots of solar symbolism which apparently reached the North Caucasus from Western Asia not later than the middle of the 8th century BC is set in a broader perspective.