Nowoodkryta ostroga typu lutomierskiego z półwyspu sambijskiego. Przyczynek do studiów nad kontaktami słowiańsko-bałtyjskimi

Abstract

In 2016, near the village of Kumachevo (Кумачёво, Зеленоградский район) in Kaliningrad Oblast during prospection conducted by the Sambian Archaeological Expedition of the Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a unique spur of Lutomiersk type was discovered. The context of discovery, especially cremated bones, fragments of horse teeth, and pieces of artifacts indicates that the site is a new early medieval cemetery dated back to the 11th-12th century. This is the second discovery of artifact of this kind in the areas of former Prussian lands. Fragments of the spur were also found at the cemetery in Cerkiewnik, Olsztyn district. For the first time, artifacts of this type were discovered in Lutomiersk near Łódź. Due to the fact that only arches were preserved, and they were discovered near the remnants of the saddle, they were interpreted as fittings of the saddle's bow. It was not until the 1980s that the interpretation was questioned, suggesting that they were spurs. Further discoveries from Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław and from the necropoly in Ciepłe, Tczew district has provided irrefutable evidence that they were indeed spurs. The origin of the spurs was the issue that bothered the researchers most. Various directions were indicated, but the most popular were that the spurs originated from the southern Ural, Scandinavia or from the Balt lands. Currently, there is a perception that these items should be associated with the early Piast state. It is not just the largest number of finds in this area, similarity to fittings from Brześć Kujawski, Ostrów Lednicki and Oldenburg, but also an ornamental program in which one can find clear references to the eschatology and cosmology of the Slavs. The find of spur from the Sambian Peninsula, the second next to one from Cerkiewnik is a confirmation of intense cultural contacts of the early Piast state with the Western Balt circle. The spur from Kumachevo is a new relevant source for the study on Slavic-Baltic contacts.

Keywords

• the early middle ages
• spurs of the Lutomiersk type
• Baltic Prussians
• Slavdom