The Excavations of the Cemetery Malaya Ryazan I in 2020

The paper represents the archaeological materials found in 2020 during the excavations of the cemetery Malaya Ryazan I, located in the south-western part of Samara Bend. Four burial complexes were recorded in the excavation, which find clear analogies among the materials of the Novinki cultural type of the Saltovo-Mayaki cultural community. Typical are gravestone structures in the form of stone slabs and memorial sites marked with clusters of livestock bones, as well as traces of ritual destruction of graves aimed at neutralizing the deceased. Analysis of the burial rites and the burial inventory of the Malaya Ryazan I necropolis shows that its functioning generally fits into the period of the middle – second half of the 8th century.