Нижневолжский археологический вестник (Dec 2023)
“Sarmatian” Elements in the Armament of the Chernyakhov Culture? (Some Controversial Issues in the Study of Weapons of the Late Roman Period and the Beginning of the Migration Era of Peoples in Eastern Europe)
Abstract
The paper deals with issues related to the spread of weapons of “nomadic” origin among population of the Сhernyakhov culture. The features of the funeral rite of this community have been considered. Burials with weapons are absolutely not characteristic of the Wielbark culture foundation. The majority of the cremations can be attributed to the Przeworsk element, especially those with ritual damage to weapons. In the burials of the Chernyakhov culture, according to the burial rite, the following finds are known: swords, “cut-out blades”, spears, darts, arrows, bow parts, axes, umbo, fragments of chain mail and helmets. Usually, the finds are single in the burial. The burial grounds with catacomb burials in Budzhak, burials in pits with a southern orientation of the head, individual burials in catacombs along the border of the forest-steppe and steppe zones on the left bank of the Dnieper, accompanied by Chernyakhiv imports, can be considered Sarmatian. A number of burials with weapons made in pits with a northern orientation of the head are possibly associated with the Late Scythian tradition. The swords in the inhumations known to us belong to the Eastern European tradition, i.e. they do not contain a metal pommel of type 3 according to A.M. Khazanov. Distinguishing between locally produced type 2 swords and Roman Germanic swords requires additional extensive research. In the two burials on the territory of Romania, the remains of plates were found, possibly related to the plate helmets well known among the Sarmatians. Apparently, the so-called “blades with cutouts” can be attributed to ritual weapons. Simultaneously, in the zone of the Przeworsk culture and on the Sarmatian monuments, “sword-shaped” spearheads appear. On the territory of the Chernyakhov culture, they are recorded in the zone bordering the steppe, but so far only in the form of random finds. Both types of weapons are possibly associated with the cult of the sword known among the nomadic Scythian-Sarmatian population. At the same time, the designs and decor of spearheads in some cases are possibly related to Roman ceremonial spearheads. Judging by the available archaeological data, the development of weapons among the forest-steppe tribes of Eastern Europe in the first half of the 1st millennium AD was largely associated with Central European and the Roman Empire influence, and to a lesser extent, with the steppe nomadic population, which begins to play an important role closer to the end of the Chernyakhov culture. But the presence of various nomadic groups and the influence of their traditions on the military environment are undoubted.
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