Sarmatian women wore bracelets made of bronze, iron, silver, gold and large beads, as well as earings, rings, various pendants, carcanets and necklaces of glass and stone beads. The ornaments which archeologists found in burials of wealthy people, in most cases were works of art, each of them unique and unrepeatable.

The necklace found in 1978 in Sladkovsky burial mound in Rostov Oblast is also one of a kind. It is made in ‘the animal style’.

The style, typical for the first several centuries AD is also known as ‘the Sarmatian style”- it is characterized by items embellished with notional ornamental images of animals, birds and, later, of people.

The fantastic beasts are depicted in a very special way. The head of the gryphon is quite detailed, whereas the body, on the contrary, is notional. The ancient master marked it by three large inserts in gold bezels — they indicate chest, wing and tail of the monster. The paws with claws are depicted by small almond-shaped inserts, the bent tip of the tail is marked by a circular-shaped insert. The artist made accents on the gryphon’s head with miniature details: he emphasized the cheek and the ear pointed upwards. The figures are connected to the medallion and the decorative tips of the chain by soldering.

They surround the bead from above and below. Both parts of the mount are hollow, made of gold leaf, the openings on top and at the bottom are covered by circular plates. Soldered to the top part of the mount are four fancy-shaped loops of bended wire. Bother upper and lower mounts of the cornelian are additionally decorated by gold chains and rounded beads of blue glass.