The paper presents a comparative analysis of burial assemblages of ‘barbarian’ élites located on the territory of the Crimea between Chersonesos Taurica and the Bosporan kingdom dating from the 3rd century BC to the mid-3rd century AD. The main goal of the research is to define indications of self-identities of the Crimean non-urban societies represented by their élites and to outline their networking inside and outside the peninsula as well as their changes during four chronological periods. The research is based on the precondition that networking in the political sphere is closely connected to the exchange of symbols of power and status. In material culture, such symbols might be represented by the so-called ‘prestige objects’. Changes in the assortment of these items observed over a long time-span are helping to visualize the development of internal and external relationships of social élites.

The paper presents a comparative analysis of burial assemblages of ‘barbarian’ élites located on the territory of the Crimea between Chersonesos Taurica and the Bosporan kingdom dating from the 3rd century BC to the mid-3rd century AD。该研究的主要目的是确定以精英阶层为代表的克里米亚非城市社会的自我认同的迹象，并概述其在半岛内外的联系以及在四个时间序列上的变化。该研究基于以下前提：政治领域的网络与权力和地位的象征交换紧密相连。在物质文化中，此类符号可能由所谓的“声望对象”表示。在很长一段时间内观察到的这些物品的种类变化，有助于形象化地反映社会精英内部和外部关系的发展。