Locations of graves with wagons. 1) Ulan IV; 2) Balabinsky I; 3) Zolotiye Gorki IV; 4) Kudinov; 5) Shakhaevskaya; 6) Sagvansky I; 7) Berezhnoy V; 8) Vertoletnoye pole; 9) Malomartynovsky; 10) Rodionovsky; 11) Koldyri; 12) Lola; 13) Yergueni; 14) Elista; 15) Arkhara; 16) Mokry Volchek. 

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... and short sticks, trichomes of gramineous plants, and fossilised plant tissues, probably phytoliths of narrow-leaf bluegrass ( Poa angustifolia ). In addition to plant residue, the sediment also contained numerous small elements of animal origin. Sediment taken from the north-western hub had many trichomes of gramineous plants, with fescue ( Festuca valesiaca ) predominant. Plant residue of the material which wrapped the north-eastern hub had trichomes of gramineous plants, many short saddle-shaped sticks with wavy edges and thin, long sticks with even edges; fescue ( Festuca valesiaca ) phytoliths again predominated. Sediment from under the skull of the man had many short and long sticks with even edges, and cross-shaped phytoliths, possibly of giant fescue ( Festuca giganthea ) and bluebur ( Lappula ). Sediment beneath the knife adjacent to the skull had a wide variety of morphologies, such as indicator forms of bermuda grass ( Cynodon dactylon ), many regular spherical forms, and trichomes. The pollen spectrum of the sediment attached to the walls of the turnip-shaped vessel was characterised by low abundance of tree pollen (pine, birch, lime), by the group of herbaceous plants that includes asters and wormwood, by Ephedra, gramineous plants and grassland herbs. The best preserved structural element of the wagon is its undercarriage, i.e. the quadrangular frame of the body, 1.65m × 0.70m in size. It consisted of two pairs of parallel carrying shafts or side-members, each 1.65 m in length. In each pair one side-member was placed above the other. The lower side-members had six grooves in their upper surface into which cross-members 0.70m long were inserted. These cross-members established the internal dimensions of the wagon body. Once the ends of the cross-members were inserted into the grooves they were fixed in place by the upper side-members. One of the connections that fixed the cross-members to the side-members was found in the north-western corner of the wagon body: a wooden peg, which was driven into the 40mm-diameter hole. To hold them more securely together, parts of the wagon body appear to have been wrapped with rope or leather straps. Cross-members occupied two thirds of the space between the side-members and were located closer together in the central and southern sections of the body, where a plank used as a tailgate was mounted on a strong, reinforced section. A framework of intertwined twigs and a thick hurdle were used to make the sides of the wagon body. The results of phytolith analysis show that the mat was most likely made of plant fibres and woollen threads. Over time both body sides either fell and rotted or they were removed from the wagon and placed at the entrance to the chamber as a screen. We can deduce from this that the Ulan wagon body sides were detachable. It is not clear how the front of the wagon body was made, as neither additional planks nor mat fragments were found there. For this reason the wagon is shown open at the front in the proposed reconstruction (Figure 7). Axles were not identified, but probably extended from the ends of the front and rear cross-members and were fixed (not rotating). Usually an axle was a wooden pivot, whose length was dependent on the size of the wagon body and the thickness of the wheel hubs. The Ulan IV wagon axles were at least 0.9m long and consisted of a central part of rectangular cross-section, and two axle pivots of circular cross-section onto which the wheels were placed. The wheels of the Ulan wagon became thicker towards the hub, and had a three-part design with pegs that connected the segments to create a wheel disc 0.48m in diameter (Figure 8). The cylindrical hub with a circular cross-section was inserted separately into the wheel. The hub may have had a rope wound around it. A wheel disc with an insertable hub is more sophisticated than a single-piece cut hub as it requires more workmanship to manufacture and to secure it into the wheel. Also, since the wheel hub is the main area where weight is concentrated, it is the first part to wear out. Hence, an insertable hub has the advantage that it can be replaced if it breaks. A mat was placed on the cross-members of the Ulan wagon: it may have been an animal hide or a woollen item (a felt or braided carpet). A bronze rod, a sheep shoulder blade and a pearl shell lay on the mat inside the wagon. If the boards of the frame had not been covered, these items would have fallen through onto the bottom of the grave pit. In sum a dismantled wooden four-wheeled wagon with sides made of planks (the side- members) and a thick braided hurdle or mat was placed in the entrance pit of burial 15. The wagon did not have a front. The floor of the wagon body was covered by a mat, a hide or a woollen felt carpet. The upper covering of the wagon body was not secured (Figure 7). The closest analogues to the wagon from Ulan IV have been found in West Manych Catacomb burials of the Lower Don area (Figure 1). In most cases such burials have the remains of an undercarriage—i.e. a wagon body—and wheels. The size of the body, composed of two longitudinal bars, cross-members and/or stiffener cross-pieces, is typically 0.70–1.15m × 1.40–1.80m. Most wheels are of three-plank design with pegging and a hub cut out of the central part and protruding from one or both sides. The average diameter of the wheels ranges from 0.56–0.72m, the diameter of the hub is 160–200mm, the diameter of the axle hole is 70–120mm, and the rim is 60–85mm thick. Contemporary burials of the East Manych Catacomb culture contain around 40 finds of wagons and their parts. Their design is similar to those uncovered in the West Manych burials (though East Manych graves have some elements that are not preserved in their western analogues). Differences are identified in certain aspects. For example, the size of the wagon body is larger: 2.0–2.5m × 1.2–1.5m, and the wheel diameter varies from 0.5–0.85m. Additional information on Middle Bronze Age wagons is provided by finds of parts of wagon arch covers (Elista, kurgan 8, burial 7; Lola I, kurgan 4, burials 7 and 8), fragments of latticed sides (Yergueni, kurgan 6, burial 5; Arkhara II, kurgan 28, burial 5), and arch- like legs supporting the wagon covering (Sinitsyn & Erdniyev 1966). A carved ornament has been identified on the sides of some wagons (Veselaya Roscha III, kurgan 23, burial 3; Chograi VIII burial ground, kurgan 5, burial 1; Lola, kurgan 4, burial 7) (Sinitsyn & Erdniyev 1966; Derzhavin 1989). It is related to a carved ornament on wooden wagons dating to the same period from the Lchashen burial ground in Armenia (Novozhenov 2012). Plant mats were also used in such wagons. In studying the technical design of the wagon body, scholars often refer to clay wagon models found in the graves in the belief that it is possible to extrapolate their morphological features to the design of real wagon bodies (Romanovskaya 1982; Andreeva 1984; Gey 2000). Others believe these to be models of cradles (Kalmykov 2007). Some models, for example those from Chograi VIII (kurgan 3, burial 3) and Elista (kurgan 5, burial 8), reproduce only the upper part of the wagon, i.e. the body, in the form of a tent (Gey 2000). The arched design of such models (with arch-like legs supporting the covering) is similar to the design of the wagon found in the Elista burial ground. An awning or tent resembling a light yurt must have been mounted on the movable four-wheeled platform; it was the mobile dwelling of a steppe inhabitant (Novozhenov 2012). Wagons were used by many nomadic peoples living on the vast Eurasian steppes. The ornament on wagon models presumably imitates the external appearance of actual tent-carts which had wicker work designs and ornamented mats and woollen braided or felt carpets that covered the arched roof of the tent-cart. In this respect, geometric carved ornamentation on a clay model from Chograi is comparable with decoration on a wooden wagon from Lola. The residues of the mat recovered from the floor inside the Ulan wagon over the cross- members had many particles of animal origin. This implies that the wagon had a covering, which could have been made of plant mats, felt or woollen carpets. However, phytolith analysis provides only indirect evidence of such design, as no parts of the covering framework were identified. Two rolls of reed mat were lying inside the body of the wagon from the Elista burial ground; here the mat must have been used as a detachable side. The design of Catacomb culture wagon wheels along the Don River continues traditions of the Yamnaya culture, though it is clear that wheels cut from a solid wooden disc had disappeared and been replaced by the three-plank design as the main wheel type. Wheels with an insertable hub came into use, sometimes with additional holes in the wheel disc for better securing the segments and reducing the weight of the wheel itself. The wagon body was a rectangular frame braced by cross-members and/or a cross-piece stiffener. The purpose of such a design is functional as it balances the side-members’ vibration phases when the wagon is on the move, ensuring a steady motion. A cross-piece stiffener with five bearing points can tolerate high levels of stress; therefore, it is this part of the wagon platform that indicates the location of the undercarriage. In the wagon reconstructed by A.N. Gey using Novotitorovka artefacts the cross-like platform was used as the basis of a tent-cart or van (Gey 2000). Artefacts from the Ulan burial provide an insight into the design of the body platform: cross-members were secured on the platform with the help of grooves cut into the lower side-members and were overlaid by the upper side-members. There were vertical holes in the side-members and the transverse planks that connected the mat to the corners of the platform; most likely, wooden dowels were inserted into such holes in order to connect the ...