The horned brick, now kept in the collection of the Bryansk Museum of Local Lore, History and Economy, was found by archeologists at Popovka site of an ancient settlement, near the town of Pochep. In the 1st millennium B.C. that territory was populated by tribes that belonged to Yukhnov culture. They used to build round settlements called Kudeyarki, that were located on river forelands or in the middle of a forest. For security, such settlements were surrounded by protection embankments, ditches and picket fences.

In the Bryansk Region a total of over 250 sites of Yukhnov culture survived to this day. In the territory of those sites, archeologists found ceramic pottery and bronze casting moulds, iron knives and arrow heads. One of the most prolific was the site of the ancient settlement on Mount Blagoveshchenskaya: there survived an ancient sanctuary with statues of gods and ceremonial juglets.

Horned bricks were discovered in most settlements of Yukhnov culture, more often as fragments rather than whole ones. Archeologists failed to identify their exact purpose. Some scientists believe that such bricks were used as racks for roasting jacks, others assume that they were used for rituals.

At some sites of ancient settlements of Yukhnov culture, archeologists found miniature copies of horned bricks. Some scientists believe that such items could be used as children’s toys: replicas of real household utensils. Others think that small items were used for ceremonial purposes: for burial or sacrifice rituals.