Topic
Hoards in the Middle Dnieper Region
The Slavic metal hoards on the Middle Dnieper have long been seen as hiding places in times of crisis. However, their presence in the forest-steppe belt – a landscape and cultural contact zone – has not been considered in explanations of this phenomenon. This project investigates this desideratum.
Hoarding in the Middle Dnieper Region at the Turn of the 7th and 8th Centuries AD. Social Practice(s) in Cultural and Landscape Transition Zones
At the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries AD, numerous metal objects, primarily in the form of jewellery and clothing (e.g. brooches, belt sets, arm and neck rings, various pendants and fittings), were deposited in the ground in the Middle Dnieper region. These deposits had no recognisable burial or settlement context and are referred to as »hoards«. This early medieval hoarding phenomenon is particularly well known in Western European archaeological research through the silver-rich »Martynovka treasure find« (Cherkas'ka Oblast, Ukraine). However, most of the currently known find complexes consist of a mixed inventory of mostly non-ferrous metals from the late 6th to early 8th centuries AD. Based on the types of objects found, the dissertation project will identify and evaluate the regional and supra-regional exchange relationships of the groups of people who deposited them. These groups ranged from the Pontic Steppe region in the southeast, via the Pannonian Plain in the southwest and the Baltic region in the northwest, to the Central Russian Ridge in the northeast. This evaluation will be conducted using methods of social network analysis and GIS-based modelling.
