The work is devoted to the systematization of the materials of burial ground 3 of the archaeological complex near the village of Mayaki (ancient city of Tsarino). The materials of the excavations of some of its sites have previously been published. The Tsarino burials were considered similar to the burial grounds of the "Zlivki" type. The introduction of unpublished materials into scientific discourse in combination with previously published ones showed that the necropolis under consideration cannot be attributed to the burial grounds of the "Zlivki" type. The name "Khazar period necropolises without grave goods" is more applicable to such objects. These necropolises coexisted in the middle parts of the Seversky Donets river along with Muslim cemeteries and pagan burial grounds of the "Zlivki" type. In terms of ritual, they have similarities with the steppe necropolises of the subsequent period, from which they are distinguished by the presence of a high percentage of twisted burials. These necropolises appeared at a late stage of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture, not earlier than the end of the IX century. They were left by a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional population, whose formation was influenced by the movement of population groups from the forest-steppe. The influence of Islam and Christianity can be traced in their burial rites, without the predominance of signs of any of these religions. The settlements where such cemeteries were discovered bear traces of military actions that ended in defeat. The similarity of the rites of these burial grounds with the steppe necropolises of the post-Saltovo period is evidence that after the death of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture, this population took part in the ethnic processes associated with the formation of the steppe sedentary population of the subsequent epoch.