Pages: 119-139 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp255119139
The study examined several sets of belt fittings from the Ryazan-Oka culture area, specifically from the Nikitino and Gorodishche-2 burial sites. The research aimed to analyze the chemical composition of the metal used in belt plates and to investigate the technological aspects of their production. For comparison, artifacts unrelated to the Ryazan-Oka culture were also studied.
The study included the reconstruction of technological processes. The chemical analysis of the metal in the examined belt plates from the Ryazan-Oka cultural area demonstrated that the color of the belt fittings’ material was important for this population. Plates made of silver or using various techniques to imitate silver (such as tinning or casting from alloys with a high tin and lead content) could serve as indicators of the owner’s social status. This demand led jewelers to develop new manufacturing techniques to create metal items that looked like expensive silver ornaments, yet were more affordable and easier to produce.
Keywords: Eastern Europe, early Middle Ages, Ryazan-Oka culture, warrior culture, heraldic lining, heraldic plates, jewelry, chemical and technological analysis
Information about authors:
Natalya Birkina (Moscow, Russian Federation). State Historical Museum. Red Square, 1, Moscow, 103012, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-7210-3939
Ekaterina Kovalenko (Moscow, Russian Federation). National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0496-8129
Anastasia Mandrykina (Moscow, Russian Federation). National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-1177-846X
Polina Guryeva (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate in Physics and Mathematics. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-8239-778X
Oleg Kondratev (Moscow, Russian Federation). National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-5572-686X
Elena Tereschenko (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate in Physics and Mathematics. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-5035-6978
Ekaterina Yatsishina (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-7652-7253