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The paper is devoted to one of the categories of equipment of a warrior of the 11th century, discovered at the Western Baltic Ostriv burial ground in Porossia (Middle Dnipro region). The red deer antler item has a T-shaped form, the distance between two longitudinal sections is 13.3 cm, and between the upper hole and the solid wall of the object is 11.3 cm. The lateral holes are not symmetrical: the diameter of the larger one is 4.7 cm, the smaller one — 4 cm, and the upper one — 2.8 cm. Two small drilled holes are located near the last one for fixing a stopper made of organic materials, with the subsequent suspension to the belt with a rope. Near the smaller lateral hole was found an iron plate and the remains of the fabric in which it was wrapped. The weight of the artefact is 190 gr. We assume the sample from Ostriv is a container made from antler. The T-shaped form of the item when suspended by small holes on the upper channel provided for the direction of the main load of the contents on the lower solid wall of the object. The fabric-wrapped metal plate provided a much better sidewall overlap density and could withstand more weight pressure than organic material tires. The contents of the container had to meet the needs of a person whose daily life is directly related to certain military activities, possibly far from the place of permanent residence and regardless of weather conditions. The study history, area of distribution, chronology, and interpretation of the functional purpose of this category of objects are considered. From the given analogies, it is obvious that such a thing was not common, maybe even considered prestigious. We believe that the container from Ostriv was used for compact storage of loose organic and mineral substances — salt, spices, medicinal herbs, etc., preventing the ingress of moisture. The issue of the container origin is debatable, as such artefacts are not typical for the South-East Baltic. Therefore, the Baltic warrior could have obtained it in one of the distribution zones of antler containers at the end of the 10th — the beginning of the 12th century: within the settlement of the Western Slavs in the Elbe and Oder rivers in the north of modern Germany; adopted from the Turkic population of the Eastern European steppes; or it should be connected with the workshop discovered in the Voin stronghold in the Middle Dnipro River. We claim the last case to be the most promising.
The paper is devoted to one of the categories of equipment of a warrior of the 11th century, discovered at the Western Baltic Ostriv burial ground in Porossia (Middle Dnipro region). The red deer antler item has a T-shaped form, the distance between two longitudinal sections is 13.3 cm, and between the upper hole and the solid wall of the object is 11.3 cm. The lateral holes are not symmetrical: the diameter of the larger one is 4.7 cm, the smaller one — 4 cm, and the upper one — 2.8 cm. Two small drilled holes are located near the last one for fixing a stopper made of organic materials, with the subsequent suspension to the belt with a rope. Near the smaller lateral hole was found an iron plate and the remains of the fabric in which it was wrapped. The weight of the artefact is 190 gr. We assume the sample from Ostriv is a container made from antler. The T-shaped form of the item when suspended by small holes on the upper channel provided for the direction of the main load of the contents on the lower solid wall of the object. The fabric-wrapped metal plate provided a much better sidewall overlap density and could withstand more weight pressure than organic material tires. The contents of the container had to meet the needs of a person whose daily life is directly related to certain military activities, possibly far from the place of permanent residence and regardless of weather conditions. The study history, area of distribution, chronology, and interpretation of the functional purpose of this category of objects are considered. From the given analogies, it is obvious that such a thing was not common, maybe even considered prestigious. We believe that the container from Ostriv was used for compact storage of loose organic and mineral substances — salt, spices, medicinal herbs, etc., preventing the ingress of moisture. The issue of the container origin is debatable, as such artefacts are not typical for the South-East Baltic. Therefore, the Baltic warrior could have obtained it in one of the distribution zones of antler containers at the end of the 10th — the beginning of the 12th century: within the settlement of the Western Slavs in the Elbe and Oder rivers in the north of modern Germany; adopted from the Turkic population of the Eastern European steppes; or it should be connected with the workshop discovered in the Voin stronghold in the Middle Dnipro River. We claim the last case to be the most promising.
The article is devoted to the research of two types of brooches from the Ostriv burial ground in Porossia (Middle Dnipro River region). The morphological characteristics of the objects, the type and chronological attribution and the accompanying archaeological context are considered. In general, seven penannular brooches with connected star-shaped terminals and four ring brooches with ribbed bows were discovered during the first seven years of research at the Ostriv burial ground. All the brooches were recorded in female burials, except two items found in the cultural layer and one brooch with a controversial archaeological context. Together, they make up 23 % of all the clasps found at the territory of the cemetery or 27 % of the brooches discovered in the burial complexes of the necropolis. These types of ancient pins now make up 52 % of women’s burials with brooches. Penannular brooches with connected star-shaped terminals can be divided into two subtypes — larger ones with seven transverse ribs and surface coating with white metal, and slightly smaller ones with six ribs. The damaged brooch from the burial no. 100 stands out for its massiveness and could contain eight or nine decorative ribs, but the item is fragmented, which does not allow clarifying its specific features. Brooches with ribbed bows can also be divided into two subtypes: two items are larger and have twelve decorative ribs on their surface, and two more specimens are slightly smaller and contain seven transverse ribs on the front side. Among the latter two variants can be distinguished — with a concave semicircular and a simple semicircular section of the case. Significantly, the penannular brooch with connected star-shaped terminals and the brooch with ribbed bows with a surface coating of white metal were found in rich burials with neck-rings of the Totenkrone type. Therefore, it is possible to emphasise the probable connection between the objects, the production of which was more time-consuming, with the social position of the deceased during their lifetime, and probably with the chronological factor. Furthermore, only these two types of fibulae among all the categories of jewellery and clothing elements discovered at this necropolis now reliably testify to the long-term habitation and high-quality repair of the objects. In addition, the general features of the repair do not differ from technological receptions within the mother regions of migrants. In conclusion, penannular brooches with connected star-shaped terminals and brooches with ribbed bows had been widespread in the Baltic region during the 11th—12th centuries. However, they were most typical for the population of the South-East Baltic, the medieval Prussians, from whose area they spread among other Baltic, Finnish and Scandinavian people due to trade connections and/or resettlement of groups or individuals within the region (migration of warriors, marriages, etc.). Finally, these types of brooches in the absolute majority of cases are found in the burials of men, mainly in two-tiered cremation burials with a horse and weapons in burial complexes on the territory of the Sambi Peninsula and its adjacent territories. Sometimes such items occur in women’s and children’s burials outside the Prussian area, but they are still more numerous in men’s complexes. Such a contrast of the Ostriv burial ground with synchronous Baltic burial sites seems very interesting, however, conducting a detailed comparative study of the costumes of representatives of the Baltic enclave in Porossia and the female population of the Sambia Peninsula is extremely problematic. The reason is almost absent separated women burials of the 8—13th centuries in the range of the Prussians, because of their dependent social position in this tribe. Thus, it is still impossible to establish whether the materials of the Ostriv burial ground reflect (at least partially) the traditions of medieval Prussian women’s clothing, or whether the composition of the costume underwent significant changes due to migration. The location of these types of brooches in burial complexes in most cases indicates their direct use in a costume to fasten outer clothing — woollen cloaks or capes. However, other provisions are also recorded, which may be related to this population’s peculiarities of burial practices.
The paper discusses necklaces from the Mosiężysko cemetery in the settlement complex in Szurpiły (Suwałki District). All of them represent the Totenkrone type, characteristic of the Pruthenian lands. The stylistic features, spatial distribution within the Pruthenian lands as well as in other parts of Europe, way of manufacture, purpose and chronology of these necklaces are discussed.
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