On December 14-16, 2009, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the International Conference "Antiquity: Historical Knowledge and Source Specifics", organized by the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences 1. Traditionally, the conference was dedicated to the memory of E. A. Grantovsky (since 1996) and D. S. Raevsky (since 2005). Scientists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tula, Voronezh, Novosibirsk, Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia-Alania), as well as from Iran (Rasht), Bulgaria, Germany (Berlin, Bonn), Great Britain (Oxford).

Opening the conference, Head of the Department. V. P. Androsov, Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, encouraged the conference participants to work productively, which has always distinguished the activities of E. A. Grantovsky and D. S. Raevsky.

At the plenary session, the report "The Temple of Ox and the problems of the genesis of Bactrian culture" was delivered by the acad. Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan B. A. Litvinsky. He noted that along with Ai-Khanum, the Oxus Temple is one of the most important and representative monuments of Hellenistic Bactria, and the excavation materials allow us to make significant additions to the complex of concepts related to the Bactrian-Hellenistic interaction and the role of Hellenistic culture in the post-Hellenistic period. In his opinion, there were three Hellenization zones in Bactria. The formation of an architectural and artistic Eastern Hellenistic koine in the vast territory of the East contributed to the development of fine arts and the subsequent flourishing of local schools with a strong local tradition, forming a unique Greco-Bactrian cultural phenomenon. The author of the report emphasized that contrary to the opinion of P. Briand and his supporters, the impact of Hellenism on Central Asian society and its culture was quite profound and multi-factorial, which leads to the general humanitarian conclusion that not only Western European civilization grew up on the foundation of antiquity, but also the basis of the civilization of Central Asia is also a powerful Hellenistic foundation.

Further, the conference was organized in several areas, grouped into eight sections: "Early Cultures of Eurasia and Mesoamerica", "Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean (3rd - 2nd millennium BC)", "Questions of Linguistics", "Mesopotamia in the 3rd-1st millennium BC", "History of the World".From Taurida to Yamato", "Hellenistic East", "Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age", "Caucasus and Middle East in the Bronze and Early Iron Age".

During the section "Early Cultures of Eurasia and Mesoamerica", six reports were heard and discussed.

L. I. Avilova (IA RAS) in her report "Silver axe and Golden Spindle (on the semantics of some tools in the Bronze Age in the Middle East)" noted that precious tools (found in a number of elite Bronze Age complexes in Mesopotamia and Anatolia), unsuitable for practical use, suggest the ritual participation of their owners in some work. She identified two groups of objects: axes, adzes, saws, chisels; spindles with spindles (rods 10-15 cm long with disks placed on them), and sometimes musical instruments (metal disks with hollow vertical handles). L. I. Avilova suggested that the subjects of the second group should be considered as "female" analogs of subjects

1 Abstracts were prepared for the opening of the conference: "Antiquity: historical knowledge and specifics of the source". Issue IV. December 14-16, 2009. Moscow: IV RAS, 2009.

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the first one, which are, in her opinion, signs of high social status. The report noted that the division of labor into male and female spheres (in which a woman is assigned the role of a spinner) is an original, universal phenomenon, and the sacralization of labor by making symbolic (non-functional) replicas of tools from precious materials is an essential feature of the ideology of early class societies.

E. V. Antonova (IB RAS) in her report "On camels in the Bactrian-Margian archaeological complex" noted that the time of appearance of domestic camels is still not completely clear. Thus, L. B. Kircho dates the appearance of clay figures of camels to the end of the Early Bronze Age-2700-2250 BC, and the domestication of the camel dates back to a much earlier time. For example, in the Podgornaya zone, according to the author of the report, following A. K. Kasparov, camels could have been used in agriculture since the Eneolithic era. In the ideas of the peoples of Central Asia, the camel was associated with deities, served as a symbol of the ruler. The report analyzed the multi-figure compositions of seals-amulets of the BMAC with images of camels, as well as animal figurines on ritual vessels. According to the author of the report, the ritual, and possibly calendar significance of such images is beyond doubt. E. V. Antonova believes that the spread of camel images in the era of widespread exchange and trade in the late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC from Anatolia to the territory of the BMAK is connected with their practical role, the ritual and mythological significance of these creatures is also connected with it.

V. I. Balabina (IA RAS) in her report "Mixomorphism and another perspective on the semantics of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images in early European farmers" noted that although mixomorphic characters have been appearing in visual art for more than 10 thousand years, the construction of most of them can be reduced to several models: "anthropomorphic", "zoomorphic", " ideogram"and" equal-part figure". In the plasticity of the earliest European farmers, most of the mixomorphic characters, according to the author, correspond to "anthropomorphic" or "zoomorphic" models, although "ideograms" are also known. Most mixomorphic images were reproduced in several categories (and types) of artifacts, which allows us to understand images as invariants, and their reproduction in the form of certain artifacts - as variants. According to the author of the report, the high variability of artifacts marked by mixomorphism and the belonging of many of them to different categories of not only sacred, but also everyday objects indicate a branched and multi-level structure of nonverbal fixation of a common cultural text for early farmers, which had exclusively mnemonic meaning.

M. V. Andreeva (IA RAS) made a report "Bronze tools from catacomb burials of the Ciscaucasus (second half of the 3rd millennium BC): correlation of cult, socio-symbolic and utilitarian functions", which demonstrated the same picture of the maximum inclusion of socio-economic activity in the cult framework as the above-mentioned report by L. V. Andreeva. I. Avilova, built on approximately synchronous monuments of another region. M. V. Andreeva, having analyzed the objects characteristic of the catacomb burial rite (steppe zone of Europe in the Middle Bronze Age): The author concluded that they were connected with the practice of ritual sacrifices of livestock, the manufacture of wooden carts (which served not only as transport, but also as shelter) and the construction of camps and mounds. This, in her opinion, is proof that the labor activity of ancient people is captured in the funeral cult more indirectly than it seems at first glance: the deceased were accompanied primarily by things necessary for performing the most important rituals, "festive", and not "everyday" artifacts.

V. B. Kovalevskaya (IA RAS) in her report "Horse domestication and use in Eurasia in the 5th-3rd millennium BC" noted that this problem seemed much more definite half a century ago than it is today. She described the evolution of researchers ' views and noted that the horse was first domesticated and domesticated in the steppes of Eastern Europe at the end of the 6th-5th millennia BC, and that during the 5th-3rd millennia BC, the range of domestic horses gradually increased from the Volga region to the west (Lower Siberia). The Danube region, Central Europe up to Scandinavia, Britain and Ireland) and south (through the North Caucasus to Transcaucasia to the Armenian Highlands). Despite the fact that recently the evidence of horse domestication in the Middle East (Anatolia, Southern Balkans, Syria, Mesopotamia, Iran) has chronologically reached the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, V. B. Kovalevskaya believes that there are no sufficient grounds for confidence that horses were domesticated in the Armenian Highlands, in particular in the Caucasus.

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In Eastern Anatolia or Iran, as well as in the fact that they were already domesticated there.

N. A. Nikolaeva (Moscow State Educational Institution) un-t) made a report "Migrations of ancient Europeans to the North Caucasus in the 3rd millennium BC according to archeology, linguistics and mythology". She explained that she started from the concept of localization of late Proto-Indo-Europeans in the Danube region and Central Europe, as indicated by Iranian and Indian mythology. In the course of research, the author of the report also drew on the data of areal linguistics and came to the conclusion that "ancient Europeans undivided into separate ethnic groups"appeared in the North Caucasus from Europe in the 3rd millennium BC. This is confirmed by the analysis of the "Nart Epic".

Five reports were presented at the section "Linguistics Issues".

H. Derakhshan (Iran, Rasht) in his report "The Homeland of the Sumerians" tried to draw attention to the problem of the ancestral homeland of the Sumerians, which has not yet been solved by science. Having considered the available points of view, he suggested that the answer to this question should be sought by analyzing the geographical data of cuneiform texts describing the ancestral homeland of the Sumerians (the most significant is the combination of three components: mountains, forests and the sea), modern language data (folklore tradition and purely lexical coincidences) and archaeological sources (from the Caspian Sea region).. The author's conclusion: the ancestral homeland of the Sumerians was located on the territory of modern Gilan (Northern Iran).

D. I. Edelman (INR RAS) in her report "Dynamics of the language of Ancient Persian texts and the sociolinguistic situation in Achaemenid Iran", having analyzed the rapid changes in the written Ancient Persian language, starting with the texts of Darius I (522-486 BC) and ending with the texts of Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC), concluded: that the" corruption " of the language ("deadening" of cases) was caused by a combination of two sociolinguistic reasons: Old Persian - the language of the dominant ethnic group, and then the state language (in the conditions of a strictly centralized state) became (in an already simplified, pidginized form) diglossia: early scribes could use the everyday language of "low" style in everyday life, but they remembered the ancient normative language of "high" style and applied it at the official level, but with the natural departure of experts in the ancient norm,the elements of everyday style rose to "high", official level.

In S. V. Kullanda's report "In search of the lost Scythians", it was noted that determining the phonetic features of the Scythian language makes it possible to detect the presence of Scythians where their appearance still seems improbable to most researchers. The author of the report formulated the main methodological principles of the study of proto-linguistic phonemes and stressed that it is impossible to determine the linguistic affiliation of certain realities, figures and ethnic groups solely on the basis of historical and cultural considerations. According to S. V. Kullanda, linguistic affiliation is determined linguistically, and all other arguments can only serve to explain linguistic phenomena, and not to refute linguistic conclusions. His assumption about the origin of lexemes (in Assyrian, Elamite, and Greek translations of Iranian names), reflecting the initial Iranian š/s- < *xš -, from Scythian, seems convincing. These lexemes, S. V. Kullanda reminded, include important social terms and Iranian names that were recorded as early as the end of the IX century BC, and therefore, in the author's opinion, it may be necessary to review the chronology and degree of impact on the local population of the Scythian campaigns in Asia Minor.

A. H. Mekhakyan (Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a presentation on "Philosophical application of linguistic sciences in Kashmiri Shaivism: linguistics and Metaphysics", in which he paid the greatest attention to the activities of Abhinavagupta (late X - early XI centuries), who was well acquainted not only with Shaivist philosophy, but also with Jainism and Vijnanavata, whose works clearly reflect One can see how the ancient Indian language sciences in medieval India were used as a powerful didactic and hermeneutic tool, with the help of which linguistic elements were connected with ontological ones. A. H. Mehakyan noted that Abhinavagupta described metaphysical categories using grammatical categories, used traditional etymology as a hermeneutic science to clarify the provisions of tantric Shaivist theology, proposed a unique semantic approach. and hermeneutical analysis of the names and epithets of the gods of the Shaivist pantheon. According to the author of the report, modern linguistic philosophy could learn a lot from Abhinavagupta's speculations on the metaphysics of language.

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P. V. Basharin's report (RSUH)completed the work of the section "Ossetian wzzdan, or to the question of the origin of Uzden". He analyzed the history of transformation of the primary meaning of the term uzdeni among various peoples of the North Caucasus and proposed to derive the Ossetian wœzdan not from *wazd - ("feed"), but from *a-zāta - ("free"), while giving convincing answers to the phonological questions that arose: explanation of the first syllable æ,which is, as a rule, the result of development is not *a, but *a; the interpretation of the initial w-that develops from *w.

On the section " Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean (3rd-2nd thous. BC)" 12 reports were heard.

O. I. Zubova (IB RAS) in her report "The 254th utterance of Pyramid Texts and the 622nd utterance of Ark Texts from the point of view of translating the ancient Egyptian religious text" focused on comparing the semantic content of these texts, the ultimate (eschatological) task of which was to achieve eternity through the possession of the divine throne by the King-Choir or through unhindered access to the divine throne she was the owner of the ark. Comparison of RT 254 and ST 622, according to O. I. Zubova, makes it possible to raise the question of the development of the funeral rite in the era of the Middle Kingdom.

In her report "The development of ideas about the Afterlife in texts and images of grand tombs of the V Dynasty", A. A. Petrova (Institute of Fine Arts of the Russian Academy of Sciences) presented new ideas and motifs for this stage of development of Egyptian art. In her opinion, the main one is the motive of travel, as evidenced by the "request" for traveling along the roads "along which the venerable ones walk" contained in sacrificial formulas, and images of traveling on boats and in a palanquin. One of the reasons for the emergence of new ideas, according to A. A. Petrova, is the desire to make independent the afterlife of the deceased from the regular holding of a funeral cult and the help of living people.

N. V. Lavrentieva (State Museum of Fine Arts), M. A. Chegodaev (RSUH) devoted their report "An Offering for Sepi: about one of the elements of the burial inventory of sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom" to the monument, which is most often mentioned in the scientific literature, but still continues to reveal the most interesting details to the inquisitive eye. The authors of the report focused their attention on a rectangular object covered with text, depicted on the western (right) longitudinal wall of the sarcophagus (in the so-called frieze of objects). Speakers noted that the text on the object is an almost literal quotation from one of the most important sayings of the "Pyramid Texts" - the Pyramid of Unis, and the object itself is a limestone palette, considered as a desirable gift with magical power. It was also emphasized that the text contains only the palette that is depicted on the sarcophagus of Sepi. The text, according to the speakers, is of interest for studying the ways of translating the "Pyramid Texts" and the links between the Hermopolis and Memphis theological traditions.

The report of O. A. Vasilyeva (State Museum of Fine Arts) "The Death of Osiris: the Ancient Egyptian Apocalypse (based on the Salt 825 papyrus)" was read by I. A. Ladynin. The report stated that the terms used in later and Greco-Roman papyri in connection with the murder of Osiris characterize this event as a great catastrophe; the description of the universal cataclysm is combined with the motif of mourning and mourning. The purpose of the ritual recorded in the Salt papyrus, according to the author, was to restore the lost cosmic balance, the constant functioning of natural cycles and the desire to prevent the destruction of the gods themselves. By the term "apocalypse" O. A. Vasilyeva understands the threat of interrupting the next cosmic cycle, the "apocalyptic" picture in the text of the Salt 825 papyrus is caused by the violent death of Osiris, with the death of which (according to popular beliefs) degradation and decline begin.

In the report of I. A. Ladynin (Moscow State University) "Internal frontiers of the first cycle of Egyptian history in the work of Manetho and other evidence of the historical and literary tradition", consonant with the problems of cyclicity in the message of O. A. Vasilyeva, it was noted that in the work of Manetho and, obviously, in the historical tradition of Egypt as a whole, his past was conceived as a sequence of large cycles These included the stages of Egypt's initial prosperity, its "breakdown" due to the king's wrath of the gods, the catastrophe and rebirth of the country. In the first cycle of Egyptian history, the greatest attention in all its ancient works was focused on the era of pyramid construction: positive attitude to Snefru and negative - to Khufu; the reign of Unas is another milestone within this cycle. I. A. Ladynin emphasized that the reign of Snefru was estimated as a milestone already at the beginning of the XII dynasty, reign

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Unasa - at the end of the XII dynasty, and possibly earlier. Further, this system of frontiers of the first cycle of Egyptian history, the author noted, was deposited in the tradition until a late time.

K. F. Karlova (RSUH) in her report "The solar aspect in the "Network name" of the second Dynasty era (based on the material of Peribsen's monuments)" argued that the innovation of Pharaoh Peribsen was to change the usual image of the Horus falcon above the serekh to the image of the animal god Set. She analyzed inscriptions on stone vessels (during the reign of Peribsen) with the image of a solar disk over the animal Set and the impression of the seal of Peribsen with a mixamorphic creature combining the head of the animal Set and the body of a falcon, which means Chorus. Based on this analysis, K. F. Karlova concluded that two motives were used to justify Peribsen's power: the conscious transfer of the qualities of Horus and his "prerogatives" as the god of the royal name to Set; the revival of the tradition (possibly pre-dynastic time) of equal veneration of Horus and Set, who "shared" power over Egypt. According to the author of the report, the still unpublished cylindrical seal of Peribsen with one of the first images of a cartouche with the royal name can serve as confirmation of the above.

N. S. Timofeeva (RSUH) in her report "Material of the RAS Archive on M. A. Korostovtsev's business trip to Egypt in 1944-1947" analyzed never - published documents related to this period of his life and activity. The author of the report focused on M. A. Korostovtsev's attempt to establish the Russian Archaeological Institute in Cairo.

A.V. Mironova (RSUH) in her report "The Granite Sanctuary of Thutmose III and the Solar Altar of the Akhmenu Temple: a semantic relationship"considered two buildings of Thutmose III in the Karnak Temple complex built at approximately the same time and having a number of common architectural elements. In her opinion, both buildings were used for a ritual, both structures played a key role in the holidays, being the birthplaces of the sun god. A.V. Mironova, taking into account the fact that the "granite sanctuary" is located among the so-called Halls of Hatshepsut, builds the following semantic chain:" solar altar " = "granite sanctuary" = "Fields of offerings", - meaning that the buildings of Thutmose III were linked both to a certain time (New Year) and to the space of the afterlife ("Fields of Offerings").

Joint report of A. A. Nemirovsky (IVI RAS) and I. A. Ladynin (MSU) "Principles of contamination of historical messages in Manetho's information about the military and political history of Egypt of the 2nd millennium" B.C." was devoted to the regularity of" linking " several fundamentally similar episodes together, which is characteristic of Manetho's information about New Kingdom Egypt. A number of motives were considered ("the wars of Sesostris", the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt, "the second Hyksos rule") and a logical principle of contamination of Manetho was proposed: there can be no repeated stages of the "offensive" and "retreat" of Egypt on its periphery during a relatively short historical period, especially if they involve characters with similar characteristics. names.

A.V. Safronov (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a report "On the ethnonym "Sechetiu" of the Setnakhta Elefantina Stele". The author at one time suggested that the term szechetiu (traditional meaning "Asians") in the text of the stele of the founder of the XX dynasty, Sentakhta, describing the troubles in Egypt, could also refer to the tribes of the "peoples of the sea" as inhabitants of the north-eastern regions of Egypt, who were present in Palestine by the turn of the XIII-XII centuries BC, and under Ramesses III attacked Egypt. Now, A.V. Safronov has managed to find evidence that the generalized term Sechet ("Asia")is used in the Russian language. In the Egyptian language of the New Kingdom era, he could also mark regions that are traditionally considered the "ancestral homeland" of the "sea peoples" (Aegis, Southern Greece, Western Anatolia), thus confirming the validity of the assumption that the collective term sechetiu meant not only the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine, but also mercenaries from the "sea peoples". traditionally served in the armies of the rulers of the Ancient East and, apparently, participated in the troubles in Egypt at the turn of the XIX-XX dynasties.

V. Y. Shelestin (State University of Humanit. In his report "Alalah and Hatti in the era of the Syrian campaigns of Hattusili I", he analyzed the first Hittite campaign in Syria (the campaign of the second year of Hattusili I), conceived, according to the author, as the first step towards controlling some part of Syria, apparently in the hope of securing trade routes. But the plan was only partially successful, and, having gained a foothold in Cilicia,the Hittites could not capture a single stronghold in Syria, and soon completely retreated in anticipation of the threat from Hanigalbat. Shelestin noted that Khattusili I returned to active operations in Syria in the sixth year of his campaigns. Experiencing a series of upheavals at the end of his reign as a result of his own opposition's cooperation with Inozem-

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he himself actively interacted with the opposition of his foreign policy opponent during the initial period of his rule.

During the work of the section "Mesopotamia in the 3rd-1st millennium BC", four reports were made.

A. D. Nikitina (Moscow, Russia) in-t ekon. In her report "Customs and normative sources in Sumer (the influence of Sumerian traditions on the development of law in the 2nd millennium BC)", she tried to examine the role of customary law in the law-making activities of the rulers of Sumer (including the third dynasty of Ur) and the kings of Issin, as well as to identify the features of legal "protonorms" that appeared in the as a result of such activities. According to the author, the very first documents of private law appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium BC in Lagash. Their study allows us to state that the procedure for processing documents has generally developed (the minutes of the court session have acquired the form that it will have at least until the VI century BC). Further, the author of the report highlighted the differences between the above legal documents and sources of public law (including the so-called reforms of the ruler Lagash Uruinimgina XXIV A.D. Nikitina also analyzed the code of laws of the reign of Ur-Nammu (XXII-XXI centuries BC), in which, in her opinion, case-law sources successfully complement the normative ones. As a result of a detailed study of this document, the author of the report comes to the following conclusions: the laws were applied by judges to make the final decision, fixing the maximum penalty for the criminal and the maximum reward for victims in various legal cases; a larger number of "protonorms" include elements of "hypotheses" and "sanctions".

The report of S. S. Solovyova (MSU) " The city of Kish from the perspective of Mesopotamian history of the 3rd millennium BC (from triumph to fiasco)" analyzed the history of Kish from the moment of its emergence as a settlement on the Euphrates River in Central Mesopotamia at least in the era of Jemdet Nasr (3200-3000 BC).B.C. The city experienced in its history both periods of leadership, prosperity, decent life, and periods of loss of hegemony, defeats," abandonment of ambition " and complete fiasco.

B. E. Alexandrov (MSU) made a presentation on "Relations between the Hittite Kingdom and the countries of Upper Mesopotamia in the 13th century BC: new sources and new interpretations". The author considered the corpus of sources relevant to the problem of relations between the Hittite Kingdom and Mitanni / Hanigalbat and Assyria, and emphasized that a fundamentally new stage in the study of Hitto-Assyrian relations began in the mid-90s of the last century due to a significant enrichment of the source base (introduction of archival documents from provincial centers in the west). Central Assyrian empire, reprinting the corpus of Hitto-Assyrian inter-tsarist correspondence, involving texts from Emar and archaeological sources in the analysis). In contrast to the view adopted at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s about the antagonistic nature of Hitto - Assyrian contacts, the found written sources, according to B. E. Alexandrov, rather testify in favor of the peaceful nature of relations between the Hittite kingdom and Assyria during a significant period of the reign of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233-1197). BC). The author of the report noted the role of these sources in the emergence of new concepts, some of which, however, cannot be considered convincing (as an example, the concept of K. Mohr was given). B. E. Alexandrov offered his own interpretation of a number of recently published texts from Harbeh, Tell Sabi Abyad, and Hattusa.

In the report of G. Y. Kolganova "8 palaces of Ashurnatsirapal II in Kalhu", an excerpt of the text of the stele (dedicated to the grand opening of the new royal residence of Ashurnatsirapal II in 879 BC) was analyzed, which reports on the construction of eight palaces in Kalhu. The author of the report drew attention to the possible non-randomness of the" named " enumeration of palaces: each palace corresponded to a certain type of wood: a cedar palace, a tamarisk palace, etc. G. Y. Kolganova noted that stylistically the text of Ashurnatsirapal II resembles not only the text of Tiglath-Pileser I (1114-1076 BC), but also much older Cuneiform source-inscription on a statue in Gudea from Lagash (late XXII century BC).

Five reports were presented at the Hellenistic East section.

N. M. Nikulina (MSU) made a report "On the culture of the Hellenistic period and artistic trends in Greek art in the run-up to Hellenism". The first part of the report was built around the key concept for defining Hellenistic culture - syncretism. Comparing the syncretism of the first and second half of the 1st millennium. N. M. Nikulina concluded that in the first case, the results of syncretism were synthesis, fusion, and fusion, which generated no-

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While in the latter, syncretism no longer provided a synthesis, it was only a combination, a combination, and not an organic unity. Syncretism of the time of Alexander the Great, in her opinion, is a programmatic phenomenon: he wanted unity based on the classical Greek heritage, which happened under his successors, but only until the middle of the second century BC.Then the influence of local ancient cultures grew. The second part of the report was devoted to the origins of the new Panhellenic style in Greek art. In her opinion, this is the second half of the fifth century BC, the first experience of program syncretism-a combination of order systems used in the Parthenon and Propylaea.

N. A. Makkaveev (MSU) in his report "From the history of ancient cartography: The Persian Gulf in the writings of Nearchus and Ptolemy" gave a description of the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf in one of the most confusing ancient sources - Ptolemy's Geography. A detailed comparison of various ancient sources allowed the author to conclude that Ptolemy (or, possibly, Marin of Tyre) compiled his description not from the writings of Nearchus and Onesicritus, but on the basis of some other, later (not extant) sources that described only certain sections of the route from Mesopotamia to India (perhaps these sources were merchant writings like the famous "Peripla of the Erythraean Sea", created no earlier than the middle of the first century). If Ptolemy had used Nearchus, he would, in the opinion of N. A. Maccabee, have been able to avoid mistakes.

A. I. Ivanchik (IVI RAS) made a report "On the language situation in Hellenistic Bactria: new data from Takht-i Sangin", dedicated to the recently discovered Greek inscriptions in the temple of Oxus. The inscriptions, in his opinion, provide new information about the language situation in Bactria at the end of the existence of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, on the one hand, indicating a narrowing of the scope of the Greek language at this time and a decrease in the number of people who spoke it, and on the other hand, reflecting the first attempts to write the Bactrian language. The paleography of inscriptions, A. I. Ivanchik noted, shows that "square" letters (a variant of Greek italics, on the basis of which the Bactrian letter was created) existed already in the first half of the second century BC, suggesting an earlier creation of the Bactrian letter.

I. N. Korovchinsky (Moscow State University) in his report "The genesis of architecture "of the temple with ledged niches" in Ai-Khanum" noted that currently there are three Bactrian sanctuaries that can be confidently dated to the Hellenistic period; among them, in his opinion, the "temple with ledged niches"is of particular interest. Having elaborated on the concepts of P. Bernard, the author presented his own point of view on possible analogies of the architecture of the temple in Ai Khanum: the temple in Lachish in southern Palestine (presumably dating back to the Hellenistic period) and pre-Hellenistic monuments of the Syro-Palestinian region (the temple in Beth Shean in northern Palestine (XIII century BC), two temples in the in the Jewish city of Mizpah north of Jerusalem (early 1st millennium BC), the so-called Hilani II in the early Aramaic center of Sam'al in southwestern modern Turkey (early 1st millennium BC).

D. Gergieva (Bulgaria, Sofia) made a presentation "Thracian archeology-problems and discoveries", dedicated to the archaeological research of recent years in Bulgaria. The author made a presentation of the artefacts discovered in the course of the work, dating back to the X-III centuries BC, and outlined the directions of their further analysis.

At the section "From Taurida to Yamato", six reports were made.

K. D. Nikolskaya (ISAA) made a report "On one food restriction for newlyweds (according to Ashvalayana-Grihyasutra)". It was about the exclusion of spicy and salty foods from the newlyweds ' diet, which, according to the speaker, cannot be qualified as a classic fast. She suggested that this restriction should be interpreted, given the general purpose of the ritual actions that accompany the appearance of a young wife in the house, as turning her from a "stranger" to "one's own". Since the moment of the" intermediate state "of the bride is dangerous for her and for others, all the steps taken, according to the author, are aimed at ensuring safety for everyone. K. D. Nikolskaya, suggesting using the context of the drachmashastra Manu to explain the meaning of the recommendations of "Ashvalayana-Grihyasutra", came to the conclusion that the food devoid of seasoning, that is, it does not possess the "vital juice", when absorbed, it will not endow the eater with any essence, thereby making it" invisible", which is what many wedding rites pursue.

K. A. Vyazovikina (State Museum of Fine Arts) in her report "Architectural projects of the Qin Empire" noted that the study of the architecture of the Qin Empire is complicated by the lack of not only the monuments themselves, but sometimes even their fragments, and information about them in historical sources is preserved.-

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moose is not enough. However, after collecting all possible bits of data, K. A. Vyazovikina tried to restore the cultural and historical context of the architecture of the Qin Empire and partially determine the purpose and meaning of one of the architectural projects - the imperial palace and temple ensembles, which include imperial residences and so-called twin palaces or copies of the palaces of conquered rulers. The author of the report paid special attention to the sixth chapter of Sima Qian's "Historical Notes".

In her report "Kannon and Maitreya Bodhisattva Statues in Ancient Japan: on the Issue of Posthumous Images of Prince Shotoku", E. S. Lepekhova (Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences) considered the problem of identifying Buddhist statues with the personality of prominent figures in Japan on the example of the posthumous cult of Prince Setoku-taishi (who lived in the Asuka period: 538-710 or 592-645).The author of the report analyzed the current hypotheses-about combining the cult of Maitreya-Siddhartha with the posthumous veneration of Prince Shotoku, about the possibility of considering the image of Shakyamuni Buddha from the Horyuji temple as a lifetime image of Prince Shotoku, and that the statue of Gudze Kannon could have been made to appease the vengeful spirit of the unfortunate prince. She came to a number of conclusions: the cult of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Japan not only merged with the belief in local gods, but also encompassed the worship of the emperor and members of his family as living gods; Prince Shotoku's views on Buddhism as an ethical creed, on the basis of which relations between the ruler and subjects should be formed, could influence the combination of the posthumous perception of Prince Shotoku and the cult of Shakyamuni Buddha; a similar Shinto-Buddhist syncretism of image perception in Japan led to a completely unique type of Buddhist sculpture.
In the speech of V. V. Lebedinsky (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "Study of the abrasion of the coastline of the Chersonesus settlement based on cartographic data", it was noted that almost 70% of the perimeter of the ancient city falls on the sea coast, as a result of which its coastline is gradually destroyed by waves and surf. The author tried to determine (based on reference points) which part of the ancient city was destroyed during the almost two-thousand-year history of its existence. Such studies, according to V. V. Lebedinsky, are necessary not only for the restoration of the topography of the Tauric Chersonese, but also for the preservation of the monument in the future.

This topic was continued by the report of Yu. A. Pronina (IB RAS) "Experience of underwater archaeological research of the Tauric Chersonese", which was read by V. V. Lebedinsky due to the absence of the author. The author stated that today only one-third of the total territory of the Tauric Chersonesus has been studied, and considerable attention is paid to underwater archeology (primarily due to the constant abrasion of its coastline). The study of the material raised, according to the report, allowed us to reconstruct the events of the siege of the city by Kiev Prince Vladimir and suggest that Chersonesos was besieged not only from land, but also from the sea.

The section ended with a report by N. A. Zheleznova (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "Problems of studying Jainism in the context of anthropological research" (over the past 20-30 years). In her opinion, it is necessary to adjust the main focus of anthropological work on Jainism, including the situation in rural communities and the lower strata of the Jain Sangha. At the same time, it is important to take a more thorough approach to the study of Jain teachings, since modern anthropologists, who are often not familiar with the written heritage of the tradition, rely on the reports of informants belonging only to the urban middle class (both in India and abroad) who know English. Occasionally scholars speak local languages, usually Gujarati, but are not familiar with the classical languages of Jain literature (Prakrit and Sanskrit).

During the work of the section "Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age", five reports were made.

The topic of A. I. Voroshilov's speech (Voronezh State University) is "On a series of akinaks of the Kelermes type". The author noted that the study of the rapidly growing Akinaki corps opens up prospects for further research in the field of typology, chronology, genesis and evolution of Scythian-type bladed weapons. According to the report, the Kelermes type includes about two dozen akinaks from various forest-steppe regions: the Caucasus, the Dnieper region, and the Don region. Special attention was paid to eight swords from the Don region (which are random finds of excellent preservation), their morphology and manufacturing techniques. A. N. Voroshilov concluded that the type of bladed weapon under consideration is of Caucasian origin

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Scythian archaic period and its possible manufacture in one workshop. It was noted that at present the traditional date of the Kelermes mounds is much older, and therefore akinaki of the Kelermes type can be dated to the middle - second half of the VII century BC.

Joint report of L. T. Yablonsky (IA RAS), M. Yu. Treister (Germany, Bonn) and M. S. Shemakhanskaya (State Research Institute) " Gold inlay technique on silver and iron in the V-IV centuries. BC (based on materials from the Filippovsky burial ground) " demonstrated the remarkable results of excavations of the burial mound near the village of Filippovka, conducted by the Ural expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2004-2009. As a result of the work, silver quiver hooks, an iron sword, a silver knife handle in the form of a deer figure, a miniature iron knife made using the mortise taushirovka technique in gold decoration were found. Having identified inclusions of platinum, osmium and iridium in gold, the authors of the report diagnosed the local, Ural origin of the metal. Special attention was paid to the silver handle of a knife in the form of a deer figure (from the 5th burial mound No. 4 of this burial ground), the interpretation of individual elements of which, according to the authors, does not correspond to the canons of the Achaemenid "international style", which can serve as evidence of its manufacture in a provincial Achaemenid workshop, where the master tried to use Achaemenid prototypes tailored to the tastes of the steppe customer.

A. A. Kleymenov (Tula Pedagogical University) in his report "The Olonesti hoard as material evidence of the Macedonian military presence in the North-Western Black Sea region in the IV century BC", having correlated the scant written information about the peripheral military operations of the second half of the IV century BC with the archaeological material, tried to recreate a complete picture of the Eastern Caucasus. the campaign of the troops of Alexander the Great and the struggle of the Diadochi for the division of his state. Special attention was paid to the treasure found in 1958 near the Moldovan village of Olonesti. According to A. A. Kleymenov, this treasure consists of elements of military equipment mainly from the second half of the IV century BC, and the first potential author of the treasure can be considered the army of Zopyrion.

L. A. Chvyr (IB RAS) in her report "The color of mourning in Turkestan based on ethnographic data" described in detail the available ethnographic data, grouping them into a number of blocks: the color of mourning in men's and women's costumes (depending on the degree of kinship and the age of the deceased relative) and in the dwelling of nomads and sedentary people (mountaineers and mountaineers). L. A. Chvyr noted that in Turkestan mourning there was no unambiguity of color, Iranian, Turkic and Turkic-Mongolian traditions were intertwined in this territory. Explaining the symbolism of color in culture is a very difficult task, since it is at the level of color associations that the maximum discrepancies between our consciousness and the consciousness of people of the past are observed.

E. V. Perevodchikova (GIM) presented a report "On various forms of interaction between steppe art and civilizations", in which she put forward a number of assumptions regarding the directions of possible cultural connections of numerous local variants of the Scythian animal style. According to the author, the animal style is very reproducible at the level of the concept, which is why (as D. S. Rayevsky said) the Greeks and Scythians understood each other well. In this regard, you can raise the question of specific workshops that made things in the animal style to order. It was noted that for this period, it is impossible not to take into account the Chinese technological capabilities. E. V. Perevodchikova used items from the excavations in Filippovka and the excavations of Arzhan II as examples.

The participants were particularly interested in the section "Caucasus and the Middle East in the Bronze and Early Iron Age", where eight reports were heard.

M. N. Pogrebova (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a report " Monuments of the Lchashen type. Features of the culture of the eastern area". The recently discovered burial mound group near the village of Garajamirli to the east of Sevan sheds new light on the situation in the area of the Lchashen metallurgical center. M. N. Pogrebova considers these monuments (based on the analysis of ceramics) to be the oldest known monuments of the Lchashen area, and also notes their differences from the monuments of the western area: here not only skulls, but also whole horse skeletons have been found; there are connections with the culture of the Middle East that were not found in the western regions, the most interesting example of which is the ornamentation of one of the vessels of mound No. 5: in the upper frieze, four chariots with a triangular body and large multi - spoke (10-13) wheels drawn by a deer are depicted, bottom - one horse without a team is depicted among the geometric shapes.

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A. R. Kantorovich (MSU), V. E. Maslov (IA RAS), and V. G. Petrenko (IA RAS) presented a sensational report "The discovery of bronze bull control elements (nose rings) in 2009 and the problem of Near-Eastern relations of the Maikop culture of the North Caucasus". The report was devoted to the results of excavations of mound No. 1 of the Maryinskaya-5 burial ground in the Kirovsky district of the Stavropol Territory. They reported that in this mound, bronze loop-shaped objects with protruding rod-shaped ends were first discovered as obvious devices for controlling cattle individuals. Previously, these objects were interpreted as psalms, etc.; the discovery of these objects in situ in the nasal part of the skull of cattle allows us to solve the question of their direct purpose in the Maikop culture zone, but does not exclude a symbolic and specifically cult role. The authors of the report put forward hypotheses regarding the possible interpretation of similar, in their opinion, objects depicted in the hands of a number of Sumerian-Akkadian divine characters thematically associated with cattle (Inanna/Ishtar, Dummuzi, Shamasha).

In the report of A. P. Moshinsky (GIM) "Digor culture and Digor-Racha metallurgical hearth", it was noted that by now the main types of artifacts of the Digor culture have been identified, the presence of a stable ceramic complex and funeral rite has been established, and the dynamics of this culture's development has been partially traced. The author of the report believes that the Digor culture can be considered as a part of the North Caucasian cultural and historical community. According to A. P. Moshinsky, the basis for identifying the Digor-Racha metallurgical hearth was the presence of a number of similar artifacts (related to weapons and male attributes) and similarities in the funeral rite, but in Racha there are no a number of female ornaments that define the face of the Digor culture. According to the author, in Digoria and Racha in the 2nd millennium BC. there were two cultures that were at the same level of development, and the carriers of these cultures had close contacts, but it is not necessary to talk about the unity of metallurgists of Digoria and Racha, which distinguishes them from other regions of the mountain Caucasus, since the parallels in metal products are not related to metallurgy as such, but to the social and ideological aspects of the origin of the tribes.
O. A. Brileva (GMINV) made a report "Evidence of the equestrian cult in the Caucasus". She noted that 31 bronze figures of horsemen are known, which are conventionally divided into sitting (28, of which 23 are male images and 5 are female) and standing (3 are found only in the central version of the Kobane culture of the VII-VI centuries BC), and the position of a woman on an animal (not always a horse) differs from the position of the man. Images of horsewomen, according to the author of the report, are found in the Caucasus in the IX-VII centuries BC, and horsemen - from the X century BC to the beginning of the new era. These data, according to O. A. Brileva, allow us to clarify the version about the movement of Iranian-speaking tribes through the Caucasus.

The report of D. V. Deopik (ISAA) "First and second plan in the art of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age of East Asia" was devoted to the findings of the last two decades from the Yunan province dating back to the VI century BC-I century AD. The author of the report focused on the fact that the traditional art of East Asia does not know the first and However, there are a number of things that contradict this artistic principle, which allows us to raise the question of possible external influence.

I. N. Medvedskaya (IVR, St. Petersburg) devoted her report "Letter of the astrologer to Akkulan King Ashurbanapal (657 BC)" to clarifying the role of Lydia in the military-political situation of the 660 - 650s BC to the west of Mesopotamia. It was noted in the report that the answers to questions about the independence of the policy of the Lydian king Gyges and its role in the international events of that time depend on the interpretation, in particular, of the letter to Akkulan (657 BC) to the Assyrian king Ashurbanapal. I. N. Medvedskaya corrected the interpretation of the message to Akkulan, convincingly demonstrating the incorrectness of the translation of the Sumerian LUGAL SU in 12 stk. messages. In her opinion, the king of Amurru (=Lydia and the maritime possessions of Assyria-two areas that troubled Assurbanapal) did not have the title "king of the universe", he was an "unrighteous king". The incentive for writing the letter, the report noted, was not the danger of a Cimmerian invasion of Lydia, but the anger of Ashurbanapalus, caused by the results of sending a Lydian army to Egypt. Medvedskaya came to a number of important conclusions: the Cimmerians did not own the Assyrian territories; the title "king of the universe" always belonged only to the Assyrian king; the letter to Akkulan cannot serve as evidence of the Cimmerian invasion of Lydia and its defeat around 657 BC; Gyges, successfully repelling the first Cimmerian invasion of Lydia.

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He was attacked in the early 660s BC, and reigned until the disastrous Cimmerian invasion in 644 BC.

A. S. Balakhvantsev (IB RAS) in his report "Towards reconstructing the history of ancient Colchis in the second half of the 7th century BC" analyzed (taking into account the mechanism of formation of the Egyptian tradition about Sesostris and its sources) the message of Pliny the Elder in the 33rd book of his encyclopedic work about the victory of the Colchian king Saulak over the Egyptian king Sesostris. The author came to the conclusion that it is actually a question of the victory of the king of Colchis over the Assyrian king Ashurbanapalus between 645 and 630 BC in the territory of the former Urartu.

V. R. Ehrlich's report (GMINV)completed the work of the section and the entire conference "About things of the Near-Asian and Transcaucasian tradition in the Ulsk mounds". It was noted in the report that the Ul mounds belong to the period when Urartian workshops had already ceased to function in Transcaucasia, but workshops that worked in the spirit of the Achaemenid tradition had not yet emerged. In the Ulsk mounds of the second chronological group (the second half of the VI century BC), objects related to the Middle Eastern tradition were found (both made in the Kuban region and made to order for the Meotic elite in workshops south of the Caucasus, as well as direct imports). After analyzing nine groups of objects, V. R. Ehrlich came to the conclusion that after the completion of the "Scythian campaigns" and before the Kuban Region fell into the sphere of influence of the Achaemenid power (not earlier than the beginning of the fifth century BC), the exchange contacts of the local elite with Transcaucasia and Near Asia did not stop. Unfortunately, the speaker noted, it is impossible to say where exactly to the south of the Caucasus in the second half of the VI century BC there were workshops that could work on the" order " for the Kuban chiefdom.

The work of the conference demonstrated the relevance of a comprehensive and large-scale approach to the study of sources, which E. A. Grantovsky and D. S. Rayevsky strictly adhered to throughout their scientific activities.

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