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The Avar-Khaganate Necropolis and Early-Medieval settlement features in Cierny Brod

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Zabojnik J.

Slovenská archeológia (Slovak Archaeology)

2006

vol. 54

issue 1

95-142

The author presents the results from his study of a part of necropolis in Cierny Brod dated to the Avar Khaganate period and the settlement features dated to the early-medieval period. The part of Avar-Khaganate necropolis is represented by 19 burials. Among them the equestrian grave 63 with a partial burial of the horse is exceptional. This is the second known case of such way of burying from the late phase of the Avar Khaganate on the territory of Slovakia, as till now the graves with partial burial of the horses were unambiguously dated to the early phase of the Khaganate. Their finds are the most frequent in the river Tisa basin. At the other regions of the Carpathian basin they are more or less rare. Important is also a collection of the finds from the grave (88), in which a cast bronze belt garniture was revealed. Among them a main belt strap-end is remarkable. Its front side is decorated with composition called 'fighting animals' or so-called 'three-piece ornament'. Exceptional presentation of this relatively frequent motif enables us to classify the strap-end to the 'Nyekladhaza type'. Its back side is decorated with a rather rare feather ornament. The set of the belt mounts included also the quadratic mounts with the pendants decorated with a griffon. The other graves had relatively poor equipment (simple ear-rings, beads, iron knives, sickles, etc.). Two wooden buckets, from which their iron platings were preserved, and a set of five pottery pieces represent the vessels. These were found in the children graves. They are mostly the winded exemplars. The part of the necropolis under study, on which probably relatively poor community buried their deceased members, can be dated to the first half of the 8th century. The early-medieval period is represented also by the settlement objects (one dwelling with two adjacent depressions and two pits). Considering absence of metal artefacts that could make their dating more precise, in their chronology we have to rely on dating of numerous pottery fragments. These allow us to classify the settlement objects only the general features to the end of the 9th and the 10th centuries.

GRAVE 63 AT THE CEMETERY IN CIERNY BROD. ISSUES ON GRAVES WITH PARTIALLY BURIED ANIMALS FROM THE PERIOD OF THE AVAR KHAGANATE

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Zabojnik J.

Slovenská archeológia (Slovak Archaeology)

2007

vol. 55

issue 2

353-386

A grave, in which horse bones (skull and distal parts of extremities) were found in addition to an equestrian skeleton, i. e. the grave with partially buried horse, was excavated at the cemetery from the Period of the Avar Khaganate in Cierny Brod. The most up to date catalogue of sites with occurrence of the partially buried animals on the Avar Khaganate territory is presented. Since more necropolises have not been completely published, the studied phenomenon is evaluated by quantitative method, only considering the number of sites but not the amount of the graves within them. This can cause some destortion, however, it does not influence the general picture of the occurrence of the graves with partially buried animals from the Period of the Avar Khaganate. The above-mentioned phenomenon is analysed in relation to the graves chronology and buried animal species. Although vast majority of these graves can be dated to the early phase of the Period of the Avar Khaganate, their occurrence in later periods (middle and late phases) does not seem to be rare either. In term of the animal species is concerned, horse is predominating, which is solely to be found in the male graves. On the contrary, the partial burials of cattle or sheep/goat are present also in the graves of women and subadult individuals. Occurrence of the studied phenomenon is supplemented with cartographic evaluation according to the animal species. Following maps of the sites, the highest concentration is found on the territory east of the Tisza River, mainly around town Szeged. The equestrian graves with the partially buried horses dated mostly to the early phase of the Period of the Avar Khaganate were excavated here. Graves with the partially buried animals, mostly those with horses, have numerous parallels in nomadic communities living in the East European steppe zone. Finally, the interpretation of this phenomenon is given. It is connected with Bulgarian Kutrigurs, whose military potential was integrated into the Khaganate's armed forces after the Avars had defeated them. The Kutrigurs probably settled the area of the Carpathian Basin - to the east of the Tisa River where the majority of such graves was found.

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2 Slovenská archeológia (Slovak Archaeology)

2 Zabojnik J.

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1 2006

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The Avar-Khaganate Necropolis and Early-Medieval settlement features in Cierny Brod

GRAVE 63 AT THE CEMETERY IN CIERNY BROD. ISSUES ON GRAVES WITH PARTIALLY BURIED ANIMALS FROM THE PERIOD OF THE AVAR KHAGANATE