Prussian Graves in the Sambian Peninsula, with Imports, Weapons and Horse Harnesses, from the Tenth to the 13th Century: The Question of the Warrior Elite

Abstract

ROMANSHIROUKHOV P r u s s i a n G r a v e s i n t h e S a m b i a n P e n i n s u l a , w i t h I m p o r t s , We a p o n s a n d H o r s e H a r n e s s e s , f r o m t h e Te n t h t o t h e 1 3 t h C e n t u r y : t h e Q u e s t i o n o f t h e Wa r r i o r E l i t e I n t r o d u c t i o nThe political events of the 11th and 13th centuries in European history defined the formation of post-Viking Age Prussian society. Long-term historical processes, such as the formation of the early kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden in the early 11th century, the feudal division of Poland from the second third of the 11th to the beginning of the 13th century, and indirectly the feudal division of Ruthenia in the same period, step by step changed social, economic and political life from the outside, beyond Prussian society. And it might be logical that at the heart of these changes were members of the Prussian ruling classes, the warrior elite.One of the possible consequences of the processes mentioned above was the decline in transit trade through the lands of the West Balts, determined by the sudden decrease in Scandinavian imports from the beginning of the 11th century. The assimilation of the main types of weapons and ornaments taken from Scandinavians in the ninth and tenth centuries occurred at this time.If the influence of southern Scandinavian and Gotland Viking Age cultures is not so obvious on the Prussians as perhaps it was on the Curonians (Bliujienė 2008, p.169, Fig.1), political events in Poland at the beginning of the 11th century had a direct impact on Prussian society. The death of Boleslaw I around 1025 led to the weakening of Polish political and administrative centres. This resulted partially in the consolidation of Prussian warrior elites, and caused an increase in invasions into neighbouring Polish lands. At the same time, there was a great increase in imports from Poland (?) and Western Europe, and the early Russian principalities in Prussian lands (Antoniewicz 1955, p.243ff; Kulakov 1994b, pp.121-122).In describing the main features of post-Viking Age Prussian warrior elites, let us look at the next issues in the article:The main types of imports in 11th to 13th-century Prussian graves with weapons and horse harnesses.Prussian double-layer cremation graves 1 with weapons and horse harnesses from the tenth to the 13th century.Prussian (Sambian) 'collective' cremations, or Aschenplätze.Prussian warrior elites in the late 12th and 13th centuries.1 A pit human cremation grave with a horse burial below, a kind of burial rite which appeared in the former area of Sambian-Natangian culture during the fifth and sixth centuries and existed in the north Prussian area at least into the first half of the 13th century. P R U S S I A N G R AV E S I N T H E S A M B I A N P E N I N S U L A , W I T H I M P O RT S , W E A P O N S A N D H O R S E H A R N E S S E S , F R O M T H E T E N T H TO T H E 1 3 T H C E N T U RY: T H E Q U E S T I O N O F T H E WA R R I O R E L I T E ROMAN SHIROUKHOV AbstractThe article presents the...

Human-Horse Burials in Lithuania in the Late Second to Seventh Centuryad: A Multidisciplinary Approach

“…In the period between the eighth to the ninth/thirteenth centuries, the custom of horse burial spread widely in the Baltic region and became more diverse in terms of burial practices. The burying of a complete horse and of cremations of armed horsemen first spread in the Sambian Peninsula (Shiroukhov, 2012). In the central and eastern Lithuanian burial sites, a very large number of horses buried in a different manner, but separately from the humans, are known from the eighth to the ninth/thirteenth centuries ad .…”

“…In the central and eastern Lithuanian burial sites, a very large number of horses buried in a different manner, but separately from the humans, are known from the eighth to the ninth/thirteenth centuries ad . Besides an affinity in concept, mass horse sacrifices can be explained by competition between leading families or social groups whose use of impressive rituals was intended to display their social status and position in society (Shiroukhov, 2012). On the other hand, mass horse sacrifices or even offerings of horse symbols in the period preceding state formation (the case of Lithuania) clearly indicated the concentration of power in the hands of the ruling elite (see Bliujienė 1992; Bertašius 2002, 2009a, 2009b).…”

The Baltic Crusades and ecological transformation: The zooarchaeology of conquest and cultural change in the Eastern Baltic in the second millennium AD

“…This reflects changes in the roleand therefore depositional contextsof the horse, rather than relative abundance of the equine population. Horse meat was widely consumed in the pre-crusade period, particularly in Livonia, whilst whole individuals and disarticulated parts were also deposited within cemeteries in parts of Prussia, Lithuania and southern Livonia (Bliujienė 2009;Shiroukhov 2012;Bliujienė et al 2017;Lang 2017). This study has only compared horses in assemblages from settlement sites.…”

Theocratic Rule, Native Agency and Transformation: Post-Crusade Sacred Landscapes in the Eastern Baltic

“…But it is also clear that political authority and the reinforcement of social relations were an integral function of funerary rites, underpinned by a cosmology that connected earthly and otherworldly identities (Bertašius 2006; see also Williams 2004). A striking example of this connection can be seen in the deposit of horses within cemeteries in pre-crusade Prussia, Lithuania and the territories of the Daugava Livs, Semigallians and Curonians, and in the use of equestrian equipment as grave goods more widely in the eastern Baltic (Brūzis and Spirģis 2011;Shiroukhov 2012;Lang 2017). There is evidence that some cemeteries contained discrete areas used for cult activities (Urtāns 2008a, 50), with unusual examples, including the use of linear horse deposits at Marvelė to segregate spaces (Bertašius 2005;.…”

“…There have also been very few excavations of native settlements or cemeteries from the post-crusade period, although the few examples of the latter in eastern Prussia (e.g. Równina Dolna, Alt Wehlau, Stangenwalde, Gierdauen, Kreki and Bezławki;Koperkiewicz 2011) indicate that horse deposits were discontinued, whilst elites continued to be buried with rich grave good assemblages, including equestrian equipment, into the fifteenth century (Shiroukhov 2012). In contrast to Livonia, the creation of a Christian landscape is more clearly represented in Prussia.…”