An Early Medieval Mirror with an “Inscription” from the Blizhnie Elbany Complex (Forest-Steppe Altai)
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2022-21-5-89-98
Abstract
Purpose. Important evidence of external contacts of the Altai population in the early Middle Ages is the “imported” items found during excavations of archaeological sites. Most of these products show a different kind of relationship with China. Much more fragmentary is the material evidence of contacts of nomads in other directions. Therefore, it is quite clear that any new information in this regard requires separate consideration and detailed interpretation. This article presents the characteristics of a little-known metal mirror from the collection of the Biysk Museum of Local Lore after V. V. Bianki. Results. The study of the museum documentation made it possible to establish that the mirror was discovered as a result of excavations or collections carried out by M. D. Kopytov in 1924 near the Ust-Bolshaya Rechka village (Blizniye Elbany complex) in the Forest-Steppe Altai. According to the available data, this find, as well as a number of other items, may come from a destroyed burial. The key characteristic of the mirror ornamentation is small circular circles with a dot in the center. The range of analogies to the subject under consideration, which is not characteristic of the material culture of the Altai population, indicates its “western” or Central Asian origin. A kind of “inscription” applied to an object over a circular ornament, probably, is an imitation of an Arabic benevolent inscription. Conclusion. Analysis of the mirror, as well as other objects, presumably originating from the destroyed burial, allows attributing this object to the Srostki archaeological culture and dating within the framework of the end of the 1 st – the beginning of the 2 nd millennium AD with a possible narrowing of the designated chronology by the boundaries of the 10th century AD. A set of items (mirror, two-piece fastener, button, beads, etc.) demonstrates a female burial, built for a representative of the elite of the early medieval society of the Forest-Steppe Altai.
About the Authors
N. N. Seregin
Altai State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Nikolai N. Seregin, Doctor of Sciences (History), Associate Professor
Barnaul
S. S. Radovsky
Altai State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Svyatoslav S. Radovsky, Postgraduate Student
Barnaul
L. I. Chegodaeva
Biysk Museum of Local Lore
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Lyudmila I. Chegodaeva, Senior Researcher
Biysk
References
1. Abdulganeev M. T., Egorov Ya. V. Novye raskopki na Blizhnikh Elbanakh [New excavations in Bliznie Elbany]. In: Sokhranenie i izuchenie kul'turnogo naslediya Altaiskogo kraya [Preservation and study of the cultural heritage of the Altai Territory]. Barnaul, BSPU Press, 1995, vol. 5, pt. 2, pp. 190–195. (in Russ.)
2. Abdulganeev M. T., Gorbunov V. V., Kazakov A. A. Novye mogil'niki vtoroi poloviny I tysyacheletiya n. e. v urochishche Blizhnie Elbany [New burial grounds of the second half of the 1 st millennium AD in the tract Blizni Elbany]. In: Voennoe delo i srednevekovaya arkheologiya Tsentral'noi Azii [Military Science and Medieval Archeology of Central Asia]. Kemerovo, Kuzbassvuzizdat, 1995, pp. 243–252. (in Russ.)
3. Alekhin Yu. P. Rudnyi Altai v drevnosti i srednevekov'e [Ore Altai in antiquity and the Middle Ages]. In: Serebryanyi venets Rossii (Ocherki istorii Zmeinogorska) [Silver crown of Russia (Essays on the history of Zmeinogorsk)]. Barnaul, Izdanie upravleniya arkhivnogo dela administratsii Altaiskogo kraya, 2003, pp. 22–67. (in Russ.)
4. Arkheologicheskie pamyatniki v zone zatopleniya Shul'binskoi GES [Archaeological sites in the flood zone of the Shulbinskaya hydroelectric power station]. Alma-Ata, Nauka, 1987, 280 p. (in Russ.)
5. Bazylkhan N. Drevnetyurkskie nadpisi s territorii Kazakhstana [Ancient Turkic inscriptions from the territory of Kazakhstan]. Rossiiskaya tyurkologiya [Russian Turkology], 2013, no. 2, pp. 95–105. (in Russ.)
6. Bobrova L. Yu., Shirin Yu. V. Egozovskii klad [Egozovsky treasure]. Vestnik Kemerovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of Kemerovo State University], 2016, no. 2, pp. 13–24. (in Russ.)
7. Gorbunov V. V., Tishkin A. A. Prodolzhenie issledovanii kurganov srostkinskoi kul'tury na Priobskom plato [Continued research of the burial mounds of the Srostkinskaya culture on the Priobskoye plateau]. In: Problemy arkheologii, etnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredel'nykh territorii [Problems of archeology, ethnography, anthropology of Siberia and adjacent territories]. Novosibirsk, IAE SB RAS Publ., 2001, vol. 7, pp. 281–287. (in Russ.)
8. Grushin S. P., Tishkin A. A. Pogrebal'nye kompleksy epokhi rannego zheleza i srednevekov'ya severo-zapadnykh predgorii Altaya [Burial complexes of the Early Iron and Middle Ages in the northwestern foothills of Altai]. In: Problemy arkheologii, etnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredel'nykh territorii [Problems of archeology, ethnography, anthropology of Siberia and adjacent territories]. Novosibirsk, IAE SB RAS Publ., 2004, vol. 10, pp. 239–243. (in Russ.)
9. Gryaznov M. P. Arkheologicheskie issledovaniya territorii odnogo drevnego poselka (Raskopki Severo-altaiskoi ekspeditsii v 1949 g.) [Archaeological research of the territory of one ancient village (Excavations of the North-Altai expedition in 1949)]. KSIIMK [Brief reports of the Institute for the History of Material Culture], 1951, vol. 40, pp. 105–113. (in Russ.)
10. Gryaznov M. P. Istoriya drevnikh plemen Verkhnei Obi po raskopkam bliz s. Bol'shaya Rechka [The history of the ancient tribes of the Upper Ob by excavations near the village Bolshaya Rechka]. Moscow, Leningrad, AS USSR Publ., 1956, 163 p. (in Russ.)
11. Ilyushin A. M. Kurgany pozdnikh kochevnikov bliz ust'ya Ura [Mounds of late nomads near the mouth of the Ur]. Kemerovo, KuzSTU Press, 2012, 188 p. (in Russ.)
12. Khudyakov Yu. S., Tabaldiev K. Sh. Drevnie tyurki na Tyan'-Shane [Ancient Turks in the Tien Shan]. Novosibirsk, IAE SB RAS Publ., 2009, 293 p. (in Russ.)
13. Kriger V. A. Kochevniki Zapadnogo Kazakhstana i sopredel'nykh territorii v srednie veka (X– XIV vv.) [Nomads of Western Kazakhstan and adjacent territories in the Middle Ages (10th – 14th centuries)]. Uralsk, Evraziiskii soyuz uchenykh, 2012, 200 p. (in Russ.)
14. Kubarev V. D. Palash s sogdiiskoi nadpis'yu iz drevnetyurkskogo pogrebeniya na Altae [Broadsword with a Sogdian inscription from an ancient Turkic burial in Altai]. In: Severnaya Aziya i sosednie territorii v srednie veka [North Asia and neighboring territories in the Middle Ages]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1992, pp. 25–36. (in Russ.)
15. Maslyuzhenko D. N., Khanov S. A. Pozdnesrednevekovyi “klad” s territorii lesostepnogo Pritobol'ya: sostav i interpretatsiya [Late medieval “treasure” from the territory of the forest-steppe Pre-Tobol region: composition and interpretation]. In: Ural i Sibir' v kontekste razvitiya rossiiskoi gosudarstvennosti [Ural and Siberia in the context of the development of Russian statehood]. Kurgan, Kurgan State Uni. Press, 2012, pp. 76–79. (in Russ.)
16. Maslyuzhenko D. N., Khanov S. A. Zerkala mongol'skogo i zolotoordynskogo vremeni s territorii lesostepnogo Pritobol'ya [Mirrors of the Mongolian and Golden Horde times from the territory of the forest-steppe Pre-Tobol region]. In: Arkheologiya Srednego Pritobol'ya i sopredel'nykh territorii [Archeology of the Middle Tobol region and adjacent territories]. Kurgan, Kurgan State Uni. Press, 2016, pp. 69–76. (in Russ.)
17. Mogilnikov V. A. Kochevniki severo-zapadnykh predgorii Altaya v IX–XI vekakh [Nomads of the north-western foothills of Altai in the 9th – 11th centuries]. Moscow, Nauka, 2002, 362 p. (in Russ.)
18. Neverov S. V., Gorbunov V. V. Srostkinskaya kul'tura (periodizatsiya, areal, komponenty) [Srostkinskaya culture (periodization, area, components)]. In: Prostranstvo kul'tury v arkheologoetnograficheskom izmerenii. Zapadnaya Sibir' i sopredel'nye territorii [The space of culture in the archaeological and ethnographic dimension. Western Siberia and adjacent territories]. Tomsk, TSU Press, 2001, pp. 176–178. (in Russ.)
19. Raspopova V. I. Zerkala iz Pendzhikenta [Mirrors from Penjikent]. KSIA [Brief reports of the Institute of Archeology], 1972, vol. 132, pp. 65–69. (in Russ.)
20. Ravich I. G., Flerov V. S. Vysokoolovyannye kovanye vostochnye bronzy na territorii Khazarii [High-tin forged oriental bronzes on the territory of Khazaria]. Rossiiskaya arkheologiya [Russian archeology], 2000, no. 3, pp. 134–146. (in Russ.)
21. Rudenko K. I. Metallicheskie zerkala khazarskogo vremeni iz pogrebal'nykh pamyatnikov Srednego Povolzh'ya [Metal mirrors of the Khazar period from the burial sites of the Middle Volga region]. In: Arkheologiya kak zhizn'. Pamyati Evgeniya Pavlovicha Mys'kova [Archeology as life. In memory of Evgeny Pavlovich Myskov]. Volgograd, Sfera Publ., 2019, pp. 174–180. (in Russ.)
22. Seregin N. N., Tishin V. V., Serov V. V. “Forgotten” coin-shaped indication from the early medieval burial complex in Tuekta (Central Altai). Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences, 2021, no. 14 (1), pp. 85–97.
23. Tabaldiev K. Sh. Zerkala iz pogrebenii vnutrennego Tyan'-Shanya [Mirrors from burials of the inner Tien Shan]. In: Evraziya: kul'turnoe nasledie drevnikh tsivilizatsii [Eurasia: the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations]. Novosibirsk, NSU Press, 1999, vol. 2, pp. 78–81. (in Russ.)
24. Tishkin A. A., Seregin N. N. Metallicheskie zerkala kak istochnik po drevnei i srednevekovoi istorii Altaya (po materialam Muzeya arkheologii i etnografii Altaya Altaiskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta) [Metal mirrors as a source on the ancient and medieval history of Altai (based on materials from the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of Altai, Altai State University)]. Barnaul, Azbuka, 2011, 144 p. (in Russ.)
25. Umansky A. P., Shamshin A. B., Shulga P. I. Mogil'nik skifskogo vremeni Rogozikha-I na levoberezh'e Obi [Burial ground of the Scythian time Rogozikha-I on the left bank of the Ob]. Barnaul, AltSU Press, 2005, 204 p. (in Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Seregin N.N., Radovsky S.S., Chegodaeva L.I. An Early Medieval Mirror with an “Inscription” from the Blizhnie Elbany Complex (Forest-Steppe Altai). Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2022;21(5):89-98. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2022-21-5-89-98
Views:
246
Email this article 