Wooden Sheaths with Metallic Coating in the Middle Age Perm Cis-Urals

Abstract

On the territory of the Perm cis-Urals during the Middle Ages wooden knife sheaths coated with metallic plates became popular. Most sheaths’ decorations were made of metal alloys with a high percentage of silver. Some specimens were decorated with grains, filigree, glass or stone encrustations, gild, and printed anthropomorphic and ornitomorphic images. The object of the article is to introduce into scientific discourse the sources and research results that will facilitate determining basic technological characteristics and individual features in the sheaths’ functions. Based on source collection and categorization, the authors reveal how diverse the items were, as well as the scale of their production. Coin material facilitated determining the period of the sheaths’ highest popularity, which is the 9th and the first half of the 10th centuries. Nevertheless, there are specimens dating back to the 11th century as well. The analysis of the features of the occurrence in burials, taking into account paleoanthropological data, allowed us to conclude that the sheaths with metal plates was part of a belt set and was used in women's costume as a symbolic and decorative element. Some items made their way from the Perm cis-Urals to the Udmurt cis-Urals (the Polom archaeological culture) and to the territory of Volga Bulgaria. It is possible that there were local production centres for these items in the Udmurt cis-Urals and on the territory of the ancient Mari people.

Keywords

• archaeology
• the middle ages
• the perm cis-urals
• lomovatovo culture
• women’s costume
• sheath
• silver
• copper
• grain
• filigree
• printing
• gilding