In full armour to the afterlife? The problem of the occurrence of defensive weapon elements in early medieval cemeteries from the Polish lands

Abstract

In contrast to offensive weapons, swords, spears, axes etc., elements of defensive weapons are a category of armaments very rarely recorded in early medieval cemeteries from Polish lands. Sometimes, including some finds in this category may even raise doubts (due to the difficulty of correctly identifying their military purpose). Therefore, the phenomenon of burying the dead with such items is difficult to assess unequivocally. This issue is discussed in this paper on the basis of the information available in the literature on the remains of chainmail (Dziekanowice, Giecz, Kałdus, Ostrowąż, Iwno) and shields (Dziekanowice, Kałdus, Lewino, Turowo, Żukowo) from cemeteries. One helmet (Silniczka) completes the collection, although its connection to the burial site is uncertain. The low frequency of defensive weapons in graves may have been influenced by various factors, resulting from the need for selection, giving preference to certain categories of weapons over others. Perhaps the custom of burying the dead in mail, helmets and with shields in the area in question did not take root or its reception was low. This may have been compounded by the high material value of the weapons that may have completely ruled out their ritual use as post-mortem equipment or otherwise limited this possibility, for example the inclusion of a small fragment of chainmail as an amulet (or on a pars pro toto basis). Another problem is the identification of certain pieces of weaponry due to their state of preservation.