Samit textiles are occasionally encountered in the medieval burials of the Eurasian nomads. They dominate in the complexes of 9-11th centuries AD, which in turn, corresponds to the textiles’ main manufacturing period in the leading production centers of East and West. In the nomadic burials of the 13th - 14th centuries such textiles are rather rare.
In the 35 burial grounds, investigated on the territory of the Golden Horde and Chagatai Ulus only 5 burials contained the total of 6 samples of Samit. These burials with Samit date back to the 13th-14th centuries based on the nature of the funeral rite and inventory.
But it is not always the case that the age of the textile corresponds to the age of the burial. Some burials of the Mongol period contain relatively more ancient textiles whose age was determined through the radiocarbon dating. Such a situation must either have an explanation or require a revision of the cultural and chronological attribution of the monument.
Two samples of Samit were found during the excavation of the burial ground Guva-2 (Kalmykia). The two fragments represent one garment, and eachfragment consists of several irregular pieces of embroidered silk. The basis of the embroidery was a monochrome Samit with a 1:2 S-twill brown color.
The time of this burial is determined by the quiver with bone carved plates whose period of existence was limited to the second half of the 13th-14th centuries.
However, as a result of studying the fragments of textiles using C-14 methods in the laboratory of the University of Tübingen (Germany), it was established that the Samit for the embroidery base dates from 773 to 952.

The appearance of the ancient textiles of VIII-X centur y in burial of XIII –XIV centurycan be explained by one of the likely acquisition channels of such t extiles by the nomads: the conquest of Christian Cathedrals, where these textiles could have been preserved for centuries.
Precious church textiles, which were taken as loot by the Mongols had originally been used as interior decoration of churches, as vestments, or as reliquary covers. Nomads used these textiles to make clothing.
However in other cases, dating of the textile itself can be the only point of reference for the entire complex when the burial inventory and the ritual have rather broad temporal attribution.
In 2002 Samit founded in richa nomadic burial in the Shumaevsky-2 burial ground in the Orenburg region (Russia). Among other nomadic rich burials, the burial is distinguished by the use of mercury in funeral rites.On the basis of armaments, archaeologists dated the burial 13th-14th centuries, and by the rite of burial they were associated with the Turkic ethnos; the presence of mercury served as the basis for the subsequent conclusion that the buried Turks were in the service of the Mongolian khans, professed Buddhism and used mercury practices.
I received the silk-covered skull and other remaining textiles from this burial for research.
Samit used for tow dress and also decorated the upper edges of leather boots. For the lower dress and the decoration of the boots Samit 1: 2 S – twillwas usedwhereas the pattern was lost. The top dress was sewn from Samit 1: 2 Z – twill, woven with a complex vegetative-animalistic ornament depicting ibex.
The closest parallel to this Samit is Byzantine Samit11th-12th centuries with griffins from the treasury of the cathedral in Bamberger, Germany. The technological features of the two textiles are very close.The ring frame of the motifs is practically identical. The coincidence of constructive details of the ornament allows to assume very close textile manufacturing centers for these fabrics. However, according toMutezius, the 11th century is the period of the“international style” in silk-weaving, so it is sometimes very difficult to separate Islamic and Byzantine silks.
However, as pointedout by Falke, in the 10th -11th centuries Byzantine weavers adhered to their own style in ornamental details of the circular strips, the round shape of the rosettes in the wedges and other plant forms. Therefore, the coincidence of the design of the ring frame of the Bamberg and SchumaevoSamits allows one to assume
their production in one spatio-chronological continuum.
To clarify the date, Samit from Shumaevo was also investigated by the radiocarbon diagnostics in the laboratory of Mainheim (Germany). With a probability of 95.4%, the period of fabric creation was established to be between 970 and 1030.

Moreover, in order to exclude the assumption of the possible entry of early textiles into a later burial, a radiocarbon analysis of a fragment of a wooden object preserved on the occipital part of the skull was performed and revealed the dates of 1029 – 1157. Since the date of the Samit textile and the date of the wooden intersect in the calibration intervals, it is most likely that the burial date is from the first third of the eleventh century.
Analysis of the Samit shows that the burial of the nomad in the Sumyevo was carried out by the early medieval nomads who dominated Central Asia and beyond, much earlier than the Mongolian tribes appeared there. According to the preliminary conclusion of Zvyagin, it was a Mongoloid of the Far Eastern type.
In conclusion, it should be said that Samitin nomadic complexes of the 13th- 14thcenturies can be synchronized with the burial. Samit samples S 1: 2 – twill and 1: 2 Z - twill were preserved in Zolotushinskoeand Tormosin burials. The time of
the burialswas determined by the typical clothing for the Mongolian period. Items of Samit were made and used in the same period, as indicated by the decorative seams, characteristic of the textile items of the Mongolian circle. With a high degree of probability it can be assumed that the time of occurrence of the Samit correlates with the period of burial.
The fact that the Mongols used the Samit is known from the written sources. Samits from the Zolotushinskoe and Tormosin burials can be considered as parallels for the cultural and chronological attribution of such finds in the monuments of the Mongol period.
However, it appears that radiocarbon analysis will increase the reliability of such parallels if the textile and the funeral complex are synchronous.But, since there is a chance of a mismatch between the date of the textile manufacturing and the time of burial, the necessity to create a database of archaeological textile, dated by radiocarbon diagnostics, becomes especially urgent.