Technology – art – identity. Zoomorphic spurs in the light of metallographic analysis

Abstract

In the 11th century AD, spurs with zoomorphic decoration, cast from copper alloy, were attributes of elite horsemen. The pair of spurs from grave 42/2009 at an Early-medieval cemetery at Ciepłe, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, are the best preserved example in Central Europe. Further specimens are known from Lutomiersk, Cerkiewnik, Wrocław, Lubniewice, Kumachevo, and Skegrie. The spur fragments share formal similarities, which suggest that they were made in one place for a narrow circle of individuals belonging to the Early-medieval elite and served as a form of identifier for them. Judging from the finds’ geographical distribution, they were probably made on West Slavic territory. The discoveries in neighbouring areas are extremely interesting; perhaps they are evidence of the presence of members of a Slavic elite in these areas? The spurs’ rich zoomorphic decoration in the form of serpent/dragon and horse/cattle imagery is in line with reconstructed Slavic cosmological and perhaps eschatological beliefs. However, the imagery can also be interpreted within the context of Scandinavian and Baltic mythology. The similarity of the spurs, indicating replicable technology and alloys, suggested that it might be fruitful to examine selected finds using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), through which significant differences in the amount of zinc (Zn) were observed. The proportions of the alloys are similar, but were not strictly maintained from object to object.