The reconstruction of woman costume of the yearly middle ages (on the materials of burial ground Revda-5 in the Tobol valley)

Abstract

The article presents the results of an archaeological research in Tyumen region in the Tobol valley at the burial ground Revda-5 of the III–IV centuries AD. The cemetery was found on the right bank of the Tobol river, the subtaiga zone of the Trans-Urals. We found a well-preserved burial of an adult woman in this burial ground. Reconstruction of the ancient costume as a reflection of the traditional culture has been already used in the study of history. Traditional clothes reflected the life-support features, and had social-diagnostic and sacred significance. Satisfactory preservation of the skeletons and things is pretty rare in the burial mounds of the Trans-Urals because they had been robbed in the course of several centuries. We decided to reconstruct the details of clothing and jewelry of the people of the Great Migration epoch. System analysis of all elements of the funerary practices and their relationship is the methodic basis of this study. This method was used along with anthropological data of postdepositional transformations of buried bodies, and was based on the data of an experiment by A. Borodovsky and I. Glushkov on the displacement of ornaments and other items of clothing in the decomposition of burial. We conducted an experiment with contemporary leather strap and overlays imitating the belt from the burial, which showed the correctness of our conclusions. On the basis of remnants of textiles and location of adornments on the skeleton, the authors concluded that suit of a 30–40 year old woman consisted of a brown silk shirt, trousers and a brown linen caftan. The suit was complemented by a leather belt with bronze plates. On her neck there was a necklace made of glass beads. Leather flask or a small bag was hung to the belt. We believe that the body was wrapped in a cloak or a blanket. This costume was widespread in the Early Iron Age among the nomads. The quality of the fabrics and ornaments confirm the high social status and material prosperity of the woman.

Keywords

• the Early Middle Ages
• the Trans-Urals
• burial ground
• reconstruction
• female costume
• Western Siberia