EAA2021: Abstract

The Viking Age fortified settlements in ancient Rus’ are mostly associated with the early medieval trade routes from Scandinavia to Constantinople, from Scandinavia to Caliphate and from Volga to the Sea of Azov. These monuments largely date back to the 9th - 11th centuries AD. It is Scandinavian colonization of new trade routes that is key to appearance finds of horse and rider equipments. Excavations of these settlements and burials have yielded an extensive collection of various elements of bits, bridles, saddles, stirrups, whips, icenails etc. Most of the harness elements are in metal and often were decorated, either with oriental-style or with a Scandinavian one (Borre, Jelling and Oseberg styles).
Osteological data of the horse and the human buried with harness pieces and the distinctive features of the burials allow us to get a foretaste of horse riding's culture in warrior corps of Viking Age in ancient Rus’.
Horse played a role of high social standing of their keeper, reflected the personal aesthetic and took an important part of the burial practice. Decorated harnesses could be a pattern of ethnic affiliation and religion.

Viking Age, harness, mound, ancient Rus, Scandinavian ornament, horse

 Abstract (PDF)

Vasily Novikov^1,2