Museum complex

"The Kiev treasure"

Byzantium
Middle or second half of the V Century AD
Migration Period
Gold, garnets, paste filler; casting, soldering, engraving, inlay, grinding, assembly
Length from 3.9 to 6.5 cm
Receipt: purchase at auction in 1904
Showcase 10

This treasure was found at the beginning of the XX Century in the Kiev Province and is dated from the middle or second half of the V Century AD. It consists of a golden torc, a decorated buckle and a bracelet. The golden hinged hollow bracelet consists of two halves connected by a screw lock. Its tips are made in shape of wolf's head, the images are inlaid with grenades. Such bracelets with zoomorphic tips are known on a huge territory from North Africa to Scandinavia

More information...

Items of the treasure belonged to a noble representative of the Germanic tribe of Skirians, who migrated from the Baltic to southern part of Eastern Europe. In the second half of the III or in the beginning of IV Centuries AD, they conducted active military operations against the Roman Empire. At the end of the IV Century AD Skirians were allies of the Huns and participated in raids against the Roman Empire. After the defeat in 454 AD at the battle of Nedao, the Huns retreated to the Dnieper river, dragging Skirians and other loyal allies with them. Probably, this treasure was hidden then. Such precious items were of Byzantine manufacture and got to barbarians both as diplomatic gifts and as payment for military service in Byzantium, and as spoils of war obtained in the raids against the territory of the Empire. The treasure reflects sophisticated ethnopolitical processes of Migration Period.
Functional purpose: a treasure trove of prestigious items that belonged to noble representatives of Germanic tribes.
A unique set of items for this era and territory.

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