Archaeologists in Russia have uncovered a rare Alan harness plate made from a gold-silver alloy inside an ancient Caucasus burial mound. The artifact dates to the middle and second half of the 3rd century AD and sheds new light on the cultural reach of the early Alans some 1,700 years ago.
Specialists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Historical Museum made the discovery during 2024 field research.
The site is the Levopodkumsky 1 burial mound in the Malokarachaevsky district of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. Their findings appear in the latest issue of the journal “Russian Archaeology,” published in 2026.
The burial was housed in an underground catacomb that grave robbers had looted in antiquity. Despite that, researchers recovered several significant artifacts. The original mound had been destroyed during Soviet-era farming, but scientists reconstructed its outline using geophysical surveys and traces of a square-shaped ditch surrounding the site.
Horse skeleton and weapons unearthed in the robbed catacomb
Inside the entrance pit of the catacomb, researchers found the skeleton of a horse. Bone analysis confirmed it was an adult male, eight to nine years old, that had been heavily used for riding or as a draft animal.
The burial also contained an iron spear tip, fragments of an iron sword or dagger with scabbard remnants, and knife fragments.
Researchers in Russia discovered an ancient Alan harness plate inside a Caucasus burial site, shedding light on the craftsmanship and cultural reach of early Alans. pic.twitter.com/ZwtujUVCBW
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) May 13, 2026
The harness plate stood out most. It consists of two embossed metal sheets pressed together. The inner sheet is made from a copper-based alloy, while the outer sheet contains gold and silver.
X-ray fluorescence analysis showed the face plate holds gold and silver in a ratio of two to one by mass. The small decorative pins holding the plates together have silver heads and copper stems.
Researchers also analyzed a white paste filling the interior of the plate. It consists mainly of calcium carbonate with wax serving as the primary binding agent. Clay minerals and a mix of proteins and lipids were also present.
Who were the Alans?
The Alans were an ancient Iranian-speaking nomadic people associated with the Sarmatians who lived across the Eurasian steppes and later in the North Caucasus.
According to the Wikipedia article, they first appeared in Roman sources during the 1st century AD after becoming dominant among Sarmatian groups on the Pontic-Caspian steppe north of the Black Sea.
They were known as highly mobile horse-riding pastoralists and warriors whose cavalry gained a strong military reputation. Over time, different Alan groups migrated westward into Europe and North Africa, while others remained in the Caucasus and formed the medieval kingdom of Alania. The article also notes that many historians consider the Alans to be the ancestors of the modern Ossetians
Alan harness plate from the Caucasus points to early cultural influence
Professor Dmitry Korobov of the Institute of Archaeology and his co-authors described the object as a notably complex piece requiring considerable craftsmanship to produce.
They outlined a detailed production sequence, from creating a metal mold and pressing the sheets to filling the cavity with paste and attaching the finished piece to leather.
The researchers concluded that this decorated plate, combined with the square-ditched mound, confirms Alan cultural influence from the Central Caucasus had already reached the Kislovodsk basin by the mid-3rd century AD.
That places it roughly half a century before the Alans are known to have formally settled in the region.
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