Fragments Of Chain Mail Armor In Women's Attire Of The Population Of The Middle Kama Region In The 3rd-5th Centuries AD

Abstract

The paper discusses chain mail fragments in the female burial equipment of the Mazunino Culture (or Mazunino stage of the Cheganda culture of the Piany Bor cultural–historical community by R.D. Goldina) in the Middle Kama Region. The items in question are an example of the reuse and creative reinterpretation of military protective equipment, such as the lorica hamata chain mail. A total of 97 burials with woven iron rings from 12 necropolises of the Mazunino culture have been examined. Anthropological data and grave inventory indicate that this category of equipment was used exclusively by women. They were arranged in burials according to the traditions of Mazunino burial rite: such items have been found in “sacrificial” sets or as part of a costume. In general, chain mail fragments were used in women`s attire as hair or breast jewelry. The available woven iron rings from the women's graves are noticeably inferior in terms of characteristics to the chain mail shirts of the Mazunino and Azelino warriors with imported weapons. The majority of these items have been found in closed complexes dated the 4th century AD (probably the second quarter of the 4th – the early 5th century AD). Close parallels in the use of chain mail fragments can be traced in the German cultures.

Keywords

• archaeology
• western cis-urals
• the migration period
• mazunino type burial grounds
• burial grounds
• female costume