Early Medieval Times Research Articles

Лепная посуда могильника Алмалык-Дере

The article describes the molded dishes of the burial ground of the 4th-7th centuries. AD Almalyk-dere, located in the South-Western Crimea. A comparative typological analysis of this group of archaeological finds, in general, demonstrates its general cultural unity with molded dishes from other Crimean burial grounds of the late Roman and early medieval times, with the presence of certain differences. Common features are manifested in the technique and technology of production of stucco products, as well as in the composition and structure of the ceramic complex, and differences are in the morphology and ornamentation of vessels. The study of Almalyk molded dishes allows us to say that the emergence of the burial ground is associated with the arrival of a group of new population in southwestern Taurica, consisting of the numerically predominant Alans, as well as Germans and, obviously, some part of the Bosporans and late Scythians.

Playing Games in Early Medieval Times. Possible Archaeological Examples from the Sylvanian Basin (Sălaj County, Romania)

Playing Games in Early Medieval Times. Possible Archaeological Examples from the Sylvanian Basin (Sălaj County, Romania)

A Connection Through Stucco Technique with Early Medieval Natural Lighting Systems in Rome and Emphasis on the Role of Light in Islamic Architecture Focusing on Khirbat al-Mafiar 7CE.

This article investigates how, since ancient times, building windows have had grids of stucco, stone, wood, or iron, as well as slabs of glass or other materials. They also appeared as simple apertures in the wall, the arrangement of which frequently served decorative functions. Following a classical tradition, the usage of shuttered windows with glass fixed on timber frames was known in late antiquity. The search for a peculiar architectural taste of the late antique and early mediaeval times is particularly appealing due to the light effects produced by shuttered windows made of translucent material, which provides a mystical and suggestive appearance.
 The light that transforms the decoration, using color combinations, sometimes occur in unexpected contexts or in an adjacent architectural form, such as the floor and vault of the royal apse in the bathroom of Khirbat al-Mafjar. The architectural element that includes the lozenges, closer to Khirbat al-Mafjar as a drawing and scheme, to create a particular visual effect, could be seen in three barriers of stucco windows found in situ in the windows of the central nave during the 1930 restorations to Bovino Cathedral. Presence of light during history and in various architectural oeuvres, in addition to functional aspect, as factor for illumination and life conferring to daily activities, it has been abundantly addressed from spiritual aspect and in doctrinal discussions of religions.

About the First Koguryo Capital

The article presents the formation problem of the early Koguryo state’s capital in the early medieval time. This subject has not been a particularly hot issue in Russian historiography. The main Korean and Chinese written and epigraphic sources were considered to resolve this background about the early capital. It categorically said, that in the 1st century BC, Koguryo developed as an established real state with an obligatory element as the capital. At the same time, information about the localization and structure of the early capital is uninformative and convoluted. Therefore, written sources were supplemented by archaeological data on the Wunu mountain city located in the Liaoning province, since in historiography, this site is correlated with the location of the first Koguryo capital. According to its characteristics, it represents a sparsely populated fortified settlement located in a hard-to-reach mountain valley on top of a high mountain. Different locations of the surrounding area are considered as the location of the valley settlement (including Xiàgǔchéngzi plain city). Several early Koguryo cemeteries were located in the neighbourhood. The Koguryo state system was finally organized only after several centuries, thus, the location indicated in written resources as the early capital, should be attributed as the leaders' military centre of the early Koguryo population group.

A drive around Pictland

A damaged carving of a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle appears on the Pictish cross-slab from Skinnet Chapel, Halkirk, Caithness (Skinnet 1). In this paper the vehicle’s original design is partly re-created, with details of the pair of horses yoked to it. The slab, now in Thurso Museum, was surveyed in 2015 and 2017 by the use of RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging), a computer-based enhancement process. Resulting augmentation of surface relief in the processed images allows multiple overlays to be drawn/traced from various light vectors to create a composite final image. The restored components of the vehicle – cart or chariot – are discussed, with relevance to its possible role. Atypical physical features carved on the facing horse of the horse pair may hint at some ceremonial motive for their presence. After a short survey of known evidence for Pictish vehicles, direct derivation of design from antecedent archaeological finds of Iron Age chariots are assessed as unlikely due to the wide time gap. Possible construction influence (in both cultural directions) from wheels found in Scottish Roman sites is noted. The common format of wheels and vehicles on the Skinnet 1 stone and Irish High Cross illustrations of ‘chariots’ are described and mapped, with the appearance of the latter in early medieval times attributed to Pictish traditions of cartwrighting.

Late antique Mediterranean rotary keys from Avaria

AbstractThe present paper describes and discusses a group of iron and copper-alloy rotary keys characterised by a moveable joint connecting the shaft and the key-ring, appearing in the seventh-century material record of the Carpathian Basin whose origins can be sought in the Mediterranean. While the few published examples of the class were in previous studies mainly regarded as Roman-period artefacts secondarily re-used as amulets by the Avar-period population of the Carpathian Basin, the present study argues that these pieces in fact have a sixth-to seventh-century production date, being thereby contemporaneous with their deposition in seventh-century mortuary assemblages. Taking this observation as a springboard for further interpretation, an overview of the possible meanings and symbolic associations attached to keys in Roman, late antique, and early medieval times is offered. The main argument presented here is that besides serving amuletic purposes, some of the Avar-period keys could in all probability have conveyed more explicit messages about their owners, such as that of their feminity and of their economic role and authority in their respective households. The Appendix supplementing the present paper seeks to provide a theoretical reconstruction of a wooden casket buried with the woman interred in Grave 119 of the Kölked-Feketekapu B cemetery, one of the burials yielding a Mediterranean hinged rotary key.

Soil biochemical inticators of initial presence of fat in different archaeological contexts

The article proposes a new biochemical approach for the reconstruction of the initial presence of fat-containing products in different archaeological contexts (ceramic vessels from burials, soil samples in different parts of the skeleton and cultural layers of archaeological sites) based on the study of qualitative and quantitative changes in the parameters of the soil microbial community, namely, specific groups of microorganisms (lipolytics), a number of lipolytic enzymes, as well as the utilization spectrum of readily available low molecular weight sub-strates. Ground samples of the studied objects were collected in the following regions: ceramic vessels — the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and the Chechen Republic; burials — Krasnodar Krai; the cultural layer of the settlement — Lipetsk region. The number of lipolytic microorganisms and the level of enzymatic activity in the soil directly depend on the amount of the incoming substrate, in the decomposition of which they participate. After the decomposition of organic residues in the soil, a microbial and enzyme pools are formed, which can persist for a long period. The obtained preliminary data on the study of the decomposition dynamics of fatty substrates give us possibility for the reconstruction of the initial presence of fat in different archaeological contexts using the methods of soil microbiology and biochemistry. But, for a more accurate extrapolation of the results of a model experiment to archaeological objects, more points of observation in time are needed, since the introduction of substrates with different properties and composition can provoke microbial community succession in different ways. Hence, the equilibrium state of the microbial community in each variant of the experiment will be reached at different times. However, the results of the study of soils and cultural layers of archaeological sites of Bronze Age and early me-dieval time have convincingly shown the possibility of applying our approach. As we assumed, the maximum li-pase activity was found in the soil samples under the skull, chest and pelvis, i.e. in areas of human body with the highest content of fat tissues. This showed the possibility for reconstruction the original contents of the vessels from burials using the methods of soil microbiology and biochemistry. A high number of lipolytic microorganisms and lipase activity were detected only in 15–20 % of the vessels. We suggest that fat food may not have been as widely used in the funeral rite as ritual food. The study of lipase activity made it possible to clarify the features of the economic usage of the territory of archaeological site, to identify possible places for cooking.

The Naths of Bengal and Their Marginalisation During the Early Medieval Period

This article is about the Naths (also known as Yogi, Jogi and Jugi) of Bengal and the evidence about the depression of their status that occurred during the early medieval times. Today the householder Naths, who maintain a caste framework, are quite distinct from the ascetic branch of the Nath Sampradaya (community). The householder Naths were apparently degraded by the smarta-ruled Brahmanical society during the twelfth century, the marginalisation being multidimensional—social, political, economic and cultural. Because of their backwardness, the householder Naths were put among Other Backward Castes by the Central government and West Bengal state government in the 1990s. Thus, the householder Naths endure ambiguous identities—claiming high caste status themselves but placed in the Sudra varna by others. This article is an attempt to investigate the historical background of the marginalisation of the householder Naths in Bengal.

The mtDNA D-Loop Legacy of Cattle: Fluctuations in Diversity from the Neolithic to Early Medieval Times in Switzerland

Fluctuations in the size of taurine cattle (Bos taurus) have been regularly demonstrated using archaeozoological data from across time and space in Europe, and have been linked to cultural, social and economic changes, but little is known about whether phenotypic change is accompanied by changes in genetic diversity. Here, we performed PCR-typed analysis of the partial mtDNA d-loop fragments of 99 cattle from the Neolithic to Early Medieval times from a number of different sites across Switzerland, combining newly presented data with previously published data (n = 20). We found that most cattle included (84) were members of the common European macro-haplogroup T3. However, cattle belonging to the haplogroups T1, T2, Q and P were identified as early as the Neolithic period, before 2690 cal. BCE. The highest diversity was found in the Neolithic period, during the 1st century CE and during the 7th–8th centuries CE. Bottleneck phases with low genetic diversity were detected during the Late Iron Age and from the fifth to the seventh century CE. Based on the FST values, Horgen, Corded Ware and cattle populations from the seventh to the ninth century CE were plotted away from the clusters of all other populations. The periods with larger-sized cattle correspond with those of high mtDNA d-loop diversity. Phenotype and genotype both appear to respond to the same socio-economic and cultural processes.

Isotopic sourcing reveals changing subsistence, cultural diversity and biological correlates with palaeodiet in fourth- to seventh-century AD Bavaria

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios (δ13C, δ15N) in bone collagen of archaeological skeletal finds are indicators of the protein sources in individuals’ basic diet. Isotopic sourcing allows us to quantify the biomass contribution of major dietary components and to differentiate between the source contribution of various animal species (domesticates, game). We re-evaluated previously published isotopic signatures in skeletons from three burial sites in Bavaria, dated from Late Antiquity to Early Mediaeval times (Erding-Klettham, Erding-Altenerding, Straubing-Bajuwarenstraße) by use of a mixing model. The result is a more detailed reconstruction, supported by contextual evidence, of both early subsistence economies and individual dietary preferences. We were able to confirm relationships between non-local dietary behaviour and foreign cultural influences (grave goods and artificial cranial modification) that have previously been suggested by the burial context and DNA analyses and that are plausibly explained by migration events. Moreover, we differentiated early and late immigrants from each other, requiring a re-evaluation of the earlier interpretation of exogamy. In addition, individual dietary preferences indicate even more migration events and social stratifications that could not previously be identified by the archaeological evidence alone.

MICROBIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE DETECTION OF FAT IN RITUAL VESSELS FROM ANCIENT BURIALS

Lipolytic bacteria are practically not detected in ordinary soils, but their number can increase significantly if fats enter the soil. To identify the initial presence of fats in the composition of ritual food, an assessment of the number of lipolytic bacteria in the soils of 64 vessels from the burials of the Early Medieval time of the North Caucasus was carried out. Microbiological analyses were conducted in samples from the bottom layer of vessels filling. Samples from the upper filling layer were used as a control. It was found that in 55 vessels the number of lipolytic bacteria in the bottom layer did not exceed the control level and was 4 – 20 times lower than in the control modern chernozem soil. In 9 vessels with the presumed presence of fat, the number of lipolytic microorganisms in the bottom layers was 3 – 155 times higher than in the upper layers. In most cases, fats were detected in small vessels – mugs, bowls and small jugs. In a model experiment on the introduction of vegetable and animal fats into the chernozem soil in the amount of 5% of the soil mass, the increase in the number of lipolytic bacteria varied 2 – 7 times compared to the control. The proposed method of detecting the initial presence of fat-containing food allows, due to its simplicity and accessibility, to conduct mass analyses of soil from burial vessels to obtain ideas about the use of fatty foods in the funeral rite of various cultures.

MICROBIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE DETECTION OF FAT IN RITUAL VESSELS FROM ANCIENT BURIALS

Lipolytic bacteria are practically not detected in ordinary soils, but their number can increase significantly if fats enter the soil. To identify the initial presence of fats in the composition of ritual food, an assessment of the number of lipolytic bacteria in the soils of 64 vessels from the burials of the Early Medieval time of the North Caucasus was carried out. Microbiological analyses were conducted in samples from the bottom layer of vessels filling. Samples from the upper filling layer were used as a control. It was found that in 55 vessels the number of lipolytic bacteria in the bottom layer did not exceed the control level and was 4 – 20 times lower than in the control modern chernozem soil. In 9 vessels with the presumed presence of fat, the number of lipolytic microorganisms in the bottom layers was 3 – 155 times higher than in the upper layers. In most cases, fats were detected in small vessels – mugs, bowls and small jugs. In a model experiment on the introduction of vegetable and animal fats into the chernozem soil in the amount of 5% of the soil mass, the increase in the number of lipolytic bacteria varied 2 – 7 times compared to the control. The proposed method of detecting the initial presence of fat-containing food allows, due to its simplicity and accessibility, to conduct mass analyses of soil from burial vessels to obtain ideas about the use of fatty foods in the funeral rite of various cultures.

Re-Conceptualising Youth: Theoretical Overview

There are a bulk of definitions and even controversial claims about the "youth" concept. The origins of the concept date back to early Medieval Times, when youth was associated with self-sufficiency and the ability to take responsibility for others (Jones, G., 2009). Since the 17th century, the ideas of childhood and youth have been associated with dependency. Later on, youth has been perceived as a transitional phase of the human life. Though each of the approaches characterizes a specific aspect of young people's life, taken separately, it does not allow to gain a holistic sense of the concept. To get a comprehensive understanding of the concept, it is necessary to formulate an integrated approach to the youth by analysing existing definitions through the sociological and youth studies perspectives. Thus, the article covers the twofold objectives: 1) a comparative theoretical analysis of contemporary approaches to the “youth” notion; 2) the development of an analytical tool to overcome paradoxes among different approaches to defining and conceptualizing the “youth”.

‘Bilampau’: A Heritage – Long Forgotten

Unlike some other forms in Nepali Painting, an earlier form known as ‘Bilampau’ remains unknown, relatively. This sense of apathy is regardless of the fact that this genre also boasts many unique features that deserves further academic explorations and need attract deeper discussions. To highlight its importance and explain the diversities, a few select representative examples are chosen to argue. As an earliest example, two painted wood-covers of sacred manuscripts dated 12th century are proffered, how early efforts were made to make a visual story in early medieval times. This is followed by a famous visual story based on Buddhist beliefs for telling Buddhist stories: and now, how it has been reduced to an annual display or as a mere ritual. A visual story of Lord Krishna remains yet one more example. It is created and based on Hindu epic Mahabharata. But the most unique and startling example cited herein has a very unique character. It is created as a visual travel guide or a suggestive map to a prospective pilgrim or a traveler. At present, this exquisite work is in the collection of a museum abroad.

Synthesis of palaeoecological data from the Polish Lowlands suggests heterogeneous patterns of old-growth forest loss after the Migration Period

Human impact on Central European forests dates back thousands of years. In this study we reanalyzed 36 published pollen data sets with robust chronologies from Polish Lowlands to determine the patterns of large-scale forest decline after the Migration Period (fourth to sixth century CE). The study revealed substantial heterogeneity in the old-growth forest decline patterns. Using new high-resolution studies, we could better understand the timing of this transition related to increasing economic development. After the Migration Period, forest expansion continued until the seventh to ninth centuries cal. CE, when the dawn of Slavic culture resulted in large-scale forest decline, especially in north-western and north-central Poland. Later, forest decline was recorded mainly in north-eastern Poland and was related to Prussian settlements, including activities associated with the Teutonic Order, as well as with new settlements from the fourteenth century. The composite picture shows a varied spatio-temporal forest loss and transition towards the present-day, human activity dominated landscapes. However, some sites, such as in north-eastern Poland, are characterized by a less abrupt critical transition. The pristine nature of the oak-hornbeam forest had already been destroyed in Early Medieval times (eighth to ninth centuries cal. CE) and the potential for recovery was largely lost. Our study has confirmed previous assumptions that the decline of hornbeam across the Polish Lowlands may be an early indicator of local settlement processes, preceding severe forest loss, and establishment of permanent agriculture.

Prone burials and evidence of interpersonal violence: A case study from early medieval Bavaria, Germany

AbstractIn early medieval times, the people of the Baiuvarii inhabited large parts of modern Bavaria (Germany). Among other evidence, about 10,000 graves dating from this time provide evidence of an exceptional level of settlement activity. These graves were arranged predominately in multiple parallel rows, so‐called Reihengräber, whereby the bodies were placed in stretched, supine positions. Burials that deviate from this custom are rarely found. For this reason, the excavation of a male skeleton at the cemetery of Aying‐Großhelfendorf (seventh to eighth centuries) attracted particular attention. The skeleton with label number 115 was found in a prone position and appears to have sustained four separate instances of sharp force trauma. The grave included a number of metal grave goods including a spatha and an iron shield boss. One focus of the study was on the macroscopic examination of the violence‐related lesions found on skeleton 115. They were located on the femur, the humerus, the frontal bone, and the maxilla on the right side of the body. The shape of the lesions indicates the insertion of a heavy, sharp, or bladed instrument. There is no evidence of healing detectable, leading to the conclusion that the individual was most likely involved in fight with fatal outcome. Subsequently, the victim was buried in a prone position alongside 17 other individuals in an otherwise regular graveyard. A possible interpretation of this difference in burial treatment is the fear of the victim's dependents of an unexpected or violent death or an expression of foreign origin. The aim of the paper is to present the most likely interpretation of the evidence in correlation with the anthropological and archaeological data.

Crust occurrence on a Galatian rock‐cut dwelling in central Anatolia, Turkey

AbstractMahkemağcin Underground City (MUC) is a four‐floored rock‐cut dwelling complex carved into ignimbrite tuffs of the Early‐Middle Miocene age in central Anatolia. The whole interior of the complex is covered by a 1–5 cm thick alteration crust that is not detected in any cave or outcrop in the region. This crust is investigated using microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray fluorescence analyses, and the results are discussed from the geomechanical point of view. The colour of the outer surface of the crust is black, which turns red inside and grades into pale yellow above the white parent rock. The compaction and solidity of the crust are relatively high, as much as double that of the parent rock. The crust seems to have prevented and/or significantly decreased the erosion of the surfaces of the room walls. Mineralogical and chemical analyses together with experimental studies on selected samples suggest that such a crust could have formed because of thermal alteration at high temperatures ca. 600–950°C. On examination of the heated samples, the main geochemical changes within heated rocks were (i) an increase in silica concentration by ca. 2%–3% and (ii) the disappearance of zeolites and sericites. Thermoluminescence dating of the crust revealed thermal resetting of quartz crystals within the ignimbrite tuff at 243 ± 260 CE. All the analytical methods applied to the site indicate that the crust was obtained intentionally, possibly by burning woods indoors, aiming to harden the wall surfaces, mainly by Galatian people of the early Medieval time.

Conserving a Sacred Site: Changing Re-Presentations of Bhīmā Devī Temple

ABSTRACT This paper attempts on writing a biography of a temple site in Haryana, Northern India. The site in discussion is popularly known as Bhima Devi Temple site. The original temple was constructed in Early Medieval times and has been recently renovated by the State Government by integrating surviving architectural remnants of the Brāhmaṇic temple. The intention of the paper is not only to follow the archaeological history since ancient times but also to visualize it in modern context especially from the perception of locals among whom the reminiscences of this local deity still lives through oral traditions and ritual performances.

Керамические и каменные просфорные штампы Таврики. К вопросу о выделении стилистических групп

Introduction. Among the liturgical objects of the Byzantine Christian cult, liturgical bread stamps make up a special category. Despite the fact that they have become widespread on the territory of the Byzantine Empire since late antique and early medieval times, for medieval Crimea they remain a rare find. The source base of the work consists of 34 ceramic and limestone bread stamps, discovered in different years in almost all regions of medieval Taurica. Of these, only 3 copies were not introduced into scientific circulation, which greatly simplifies the work and avoids unnecessary repetitions. Bronze and wooden bread stamps, which have a pronounced originality, are not considered in this work. Methods and materials. The standard methods, which usually involved for the study of archaeological materials, are used in the work: stratigraphic, typological, and comparative. Analysis. Despite the fact that each bread stamp found on the peninsula has individual features, the work for the first time made an attempt to distinguish several stable stylistic groups. The main criterion is the design features of the objects and the arrangement of the elements forming the composition. Results. The data obtained made it possible to conclude that today we can talk about 8 groups in which stamps of different morphology are presented. The chronological scope of the occurrence and the period of existence of each of these groups is different. Archaeological complexes are also different, where products of a particular group were recorded. In quantitative terms, the groups are also not uniform. Some of them form single specimens of prosphores, others are more numerous.

Перстни-амулеты с изображением святого всадника VII в. из Крыма

Introduction. The group of jewelry with Christian symbols that existed in the Crimea in the early Middle Ages includes cast bronze rings, on a flat shield of which the image of a holy rider with a cross in his hands is engraved. The rings were found in the South-West Crimea in the burial grounds near the village of Luchistoe, Skalistoe and EskiKermen, as well as in Kerch at the early medieval necropolis of the Bosporus, in the burials of the 7th century. Methods. For the attribution of published products, a circle of analogies is identified, findings from the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire are analyzed. The iconography of the holy rider is compared on various subjects. In the Crimea, three of the published finger rings were found in in situ burials, as part of a closed complex, together with tools with a narrow dating, which makes it possible to clarify the time of existence of this type of products in the region and to determine the method of wearing it. Analysis. The plot depicted on the finger rings has an undeniable resemblance to the scene of the solemn entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, described in all four Gospels and well known from the numerous pictorial monuments of the early medieval period. The iconography of that scene originated in the era of Constantine the Great, under the influence of imperial art and in many ways corresponded to the Triumphal entry of the emperor to Rome or any large city of the empire. The image of Christ the rider on the Crimean finger rings belongs to the iconographic type, which became widespread in the 6th–7th centuries, mainly in Egypt, the Syro-Palestinian region and Asia Minor. The quality of execution of the published rings from the Crimea allows us to speak about their local production. Byzantine products that came to the peninsula thanks to stable trade relations with the empire or were brought by pilgrims from holy places served as models for the Crimean artisans. In the minds of ancient Christians, the image of Christ the rider had a powerful protective power. Placed on the shield of the ring, it endowed the decoration with the properties of an amulet, protecting the person wearing it from all troubles. The rings originating from Crimea belonged to a teenage girl and young women who wore them on their hands – on the right index or ring finger, or in special belt bags, in which, in addition to utilitarian items, various amulets were also put. Results. The study of rings makes it possible not only to expand knowledge about jewelry that existed in the early medieval times, but also to replenish our information about the daily life of the Christian population of the early medieval Crimea.