Scythian influences in the Central Balkan Region in the early Iron Age

Abstract

There are not many objects in the Central Balkan area that could point to the Scythian influences during 6th and 4th century BC. Bronze arrowheads are the most frequent type of objects of Scythian origin in this area, and it seems that they appear at the end of the 7th century BC. Till nowadays, we registered around 100 arrowheads of this type. We have only 3 bronze zoomorphic-formed decorative plates that indicate Pontic origin and eastern provenience, but unlike arows and horse-bits, all of them point to 5th and early 4th century BC. Horse-bits and snaffles appear in the central Balkan region very early, at the end of 7th century BC, and we can connect them with the Szentes-Verkerzug type of horse-bits with zoomorphic ends. After that, horse-bits of the later Szentes-Verkerzug type still appear in this region, during the 6th and 5th century BC. Their appearance could be connected with the middle Danube and Tisza basins. Later horse-bits are connected with the eastern influences and the lower Danube region as well as the Black Sea, and they point to 5th century BC.