Pages: 171-180

A finger ring with a pentagram was found in tomb 7 of the Gorzuvity necropolis, which served as the basis for this research in order to study the origin and the distribution of such jewelry, to identify analogies and to clarify their dating. Parallels from the South-Western Crimea and from other territories of the Byzantine world are given. A study of sample of such rings allowed us to identify several features that are most characteristic of the 10^th—12^th centuries. On this basis, the ring with pentalpha from Gorzuvity necropolis was previously dated to the 9^th—11^th centuries, not excluding the 12^th century. Perhaps, with the help of the natural science methods implemented at present time, we will be able to clarify this date. The pentagram rings are of Byzantine origin, since they were distributed both in Byzantium itself and in its adjacent territories. Considering the finds from closed complexes, the rings appear in the 6^th—7^th centuries, the most widespread being from the 9^th to the 11^th centuries, their number dropping in the 12^th century. Apparently, it was not an expensive mass production, these products being worn by citizens and residents of settlements. Such rings had an apotropaic character, because the image of the pentagram was supposed to ward off misfortune and evil from a person, whereas the signs of wear indicate that these jewelries were worn daily. Pentagram rings certainly reflect Byzantine fashion, they demonstrate the aesthetic and religious preferences of the peripheral population and testify to a uniform culture in the Byzantine world in the Middle Ages.

Keywords: Crimea, Byzantium, Balkan region, Middle Byzantine period, funerary sites, pentagram / pentalpha rings

Information about author:

Anna Mastykova (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]