Book Series Warsaw Studies in Archaeology, vol. 9

The West Balt Circle Riders

Spurs and their Role in the Bogaczewo and Sudovian Cultures

Bartosz Kontny

  • Pages: 190 p.
  • Size:156 x 234 mm
  • Illustrations:23 b/w, 11 col., 2 tables b/w., 7 maps color
  • Language(s):English, Polish
  • Publication Year:2025


Pre-order*
  • € 55,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-61493-9
  • Hardback
  • Forthcoming (Jun/25)
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Open Access


Presenting typo-chronological studies of the West Balt spurs, the book sheds a new light on the problem of inter-cultural relations, the symbolic meaning of spurs, and their significance in the burial rites of the Bogaczewo and Sudovian Cultures.

BIO

Bartosz Kontny: University professor in the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw


(Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Diving Instructor incl. Underwater Archaeology (CMAS M2+) specializing in archaeology of the Pre-Roman, Roman and Migration Periods, particularly, weaponry, but also underwater archaeology, ancient shipwrecks and boatbuilding. He carries out underwater research at the sacrificial watery site from the Roman Period and Middle Ages in Lake Lubanowo (NW Poland).

Summary

The spurs of horse riders have long been acknowledged as an important item of grave furniture in the Late Roman and Migration period burials of Poland, a reflection of the high social position held by the deceased. Yet while spurs have been studied at a general level, and typo-chronological studies have been conducted on spurs found in southern and central Poland, no such research has so far been conducted on finds from the West Balt Circle, in north-eastern Poland. This volume is an attempt to rectify the situation by offering a thorough examination of finds attributed to the Bogaczewo and Sudovian Cultures. The author here offers a comprehensive assessment of surviving materials from the period, many of which are scattered through museums across Europe, together with an in-depth analysis of archival sources (included among them the private inventories of archaeologists working in the pre-war period) in order to reconstruct our understanding of the furnishings and data relating to spurs. This detailed research, carefully contextualized against our wider understanding of Barbarian Europe, offers an important new reference for our understanding both of the West Balt Circle and its inter-cultural relations with surrounding regions, as well as of the symbolic meaning of spurs and their significance in burial rites.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1. State of research
Chapter 2. Sources
Chapter 3. Spurs
Chapter 4. Anthropological Data
Chapter 5. Richness of Graves with Spurs. Co-occurrence with Weapons
Chapter 6. Number of Spurs in Graves
Chapter 7. Location of Graves with Spurs within Cemeteries
Chapter 8. Ways of Mounting Spurs
Chapter 9. Development of Spurs in the Bogaczewo and Sudovian Cultures
Chapter 10. Roman Inspirations
Chapter 11. Catalogue

Works Cited