Prussian Graves in the Sambian Peninsula, with Imports, Weapons and Horse Harnesses, from the Tenth to the 13th Century: The Question of the Warrior Elite
Volume 18 (2012): People at the Crossroads of Space and Time (Footmarks of Societies in Ancient Europe) II, pp. 224–255
Pub. online: 30 December 2012
Type: Article
Open Access
Open Access
Received
29 January 2012
29 January 2012
Revised
16 April 2012
16 April 2012
Accepted
7 October 2012
7 October 2012
Published
30 December 2012
30 December 2012
Abstract
The article presents the latest data on tenth to 13th-century imports, graves with weapons and horse harnesses in the north Prussian area. The study is made on the basis of five recently investigated Prussian cemeteries, and on vast prewar published and archival data. Questions of the Sambian Aschenplätze and social differentiation in Medieval Prussian society are also partly described. In addition, the 12th and 13th-century and Teutonic Period inhumation graves with weapons and horse harnesses are analysed briefly, in order to demonstrate both the continuity of tenth to 13th-century Prussian culture and its transformation brought about by 13th-century political changes.