Achaemenid Decoration with an Eight-Pointed Star from Filippovka 1

The article is devoted to the publication of a piece of jewelry with an eight-pointed star – a symbol of the goddess Inanna / Ishtar. The main decorative elements (an eight-pointed star, a filigree made of braids and smooth wire, an end with pyramids of four grain balls, additional elements of chains in the form of wires ending in pyramids of grain on which beads were strung, and drop-shaped pendants decorated with pyramids of four grains, four-bladed pendants, consisting of two thin almond-shaped plates bent at right angles, soldered together along the fold line), as well as the use of cloisonne enamel technique by the master and the method of attaching round eyelets soldered to the underside of the plate, have numerous parallels among Achaemenid jewelry. We can assume that the decoration was sewn on the upper part of the headdress, which was a trun-cated cone, the top of which was beveled back. In this case, chains of medium length could be lo-cated in front, and short chains – behind, dropping to the same level. Along with other Achaemenid prestige values, it fell into the hands of the Southern Urals nomads as payment for their participation in the suppression of the Inaros' revolt in Egypt in 456–454 BC and then for several decades it existed in a nomadic environment. Taking into account the available analogies and the historical context of the find, the decoration can be dated to the last quarter of the 6th – the first half of the 5th century BC

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