Sabers from the Volga-Kama Region in the 8th-10th Centuries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2025.5.62.69Keywords:
archaeology, Volga-Kama region, burial ground, burial, saber, blade, type, crossguard, pommelAbstract
The paper features the results of a study of sabers of the Volga-Kama population of the 8th-10th centuries. The study involved sabers from seven burial grounds and two single burials. A total of 16 sabers were studied. According to morphological features, the sabers were divided into groups by overall length, sections by blade curvature and types by crossguard shape. It has been established that sabers are a rather rare type of weapon to be found in burials. Sabers were valuable and probably reflected the status. Their presence in the grave is most likely associated with the high social status and influence of buried persons during their life. In graves, sabers were most often placed to the left of the buried. Sabers were worn in special scabbards that protected the blade from the negative impact of the environment. The scabbard body was made of wood and additionally covered with leather or fabric. The scabbard parts were studied. The scabbard parts include: swordbelt rings, loops, scabbard tips and clips. Certain clips were additionally adorned with decorative elements featuring zoomorphic images or plant ornaments. In the course of the study, preliminary chronological frameworks of various types of sabers were established and analogies in the steppes of Eastern Europe were revealed. It was established that the earliest sabers had a diamond-shaped crossguard. Sabers with this type of crossguard are found in complexes of the 8th-10th centuries. The latest sabers had a straight crossguard with a small expansion at the handle and spherical crowns at the ends, a curved crossguard and spherical crowns at the ends, as well as a bar-shaped crossguard. Sabers with similar crossguards are found in complexes of the 9th-10th centuries.
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