Bracelets with Widened Ends Made from Precious Metals of the Late Roman and the Great Migration Period: Danube-Dnieper-Baltic Parallels

Abstract

By the 5th century AD, massive gold bracelets with widened ends had become prestigious cultural elements, symbolizing the power of the barbarian tribal groups’ rulers. The areas where such finds were discovered are located primarily in the Carpathian-Danube region and Gallia. Under the influence of this fashion for displaying high social status, bracelets with thickened ends made from silver, the material available to the tribes in the western part of the East European Plain, became widespread in the 5th century. There are two zones of their concentration: the northern zone in the Baltics, Upper Dnieper region, and Middle Oka region; and the southern zone in the Middle Dnieper region and the left-bank forest steppe of the Dnieper. Bracelets made from silver and its alloys from the Middle Dnieper region were found in women’s burials and hoards, indicating their connection with female outfits. Their appearance could be associated with the influence of the “Middle Danube” model of female outfit during the Great Migration period, and this model persisted up until the 6th – 7th centuries. The second group of bracelets is documented in the antiquities of Nemunas and the Western Dvina basins in the Baltics. They are predominantly found in male warrior complexes dating back to the 5th century, belonging to the members of goroups involved in strategic control over important routes connecting Scandinavia and Southeastern Baltic with the eastward territories.

Keywords

• great migration period
• east baltics
• middle dnieper region
• danube region
• cultural connections
• bracelets
• hoards
• burials