Archeologists found the horse gear in 1983 in Rostov-on-Don. It was dated as second half of the II century AD. Decorated with thin gold leaf plates the horse harness was folded several times and placed at the feet of the buried person. The authors of excavations did not manage to establish the exact number of pieces in field conditions. Most of the gold plates have been poorly preserved — deformed and torn. The display has foil fragments put together by restorers from small pieces into items of horse gear.

A riding horseman taking a swing with his sword is depicted on the plate. The ancient artist inserted blue glass instead of the figure’s head. But the stamped pattern is very detailed: we can see that the rider is holding a rein with his right hand, the figure is slightly bent forward, one foot is out of the stirrup. The horse is depicted more notionally, the horse’s head is a drop-shaped inserted piece of blue glass, and the chest and thigh are round inserted glass pieces of the same colour.

Chatons for the inserted pieces are also carved around the image. There is a herringbone ornament stamped along the perimeter at the top and sides of the plate. The plate’s lower part is cut and missing since ancient time.

Other items of horse harness include gold plates shaped as gryphons, rectangular plates with stamped images of animals, leaf-shaped and round phalerae — horse harness decorations. There are masks depicted on three of them. All the elements are made in the same technique — toreutics.

Gold plates decorated a leather harness — leather patches are preserved under the rectangular plates — and wooden phalerae. Almost every item has its mirror image.