Early Medieval Swords from Mikulčice

Description

Edited by Lumír Polácek and Pavel Kouril. In the tenth volume of the series of publications entitled 'Studien zum Burgwall von Mikulčice' we return to the systematic publication of selected categories of the movable finds from excavations of the early mediaeval stronghold of Mikulčice. This time it is a particularly important category – swords. The set represents all the specimens found so far in Mikulčice – a total of 16 complete swords from grave units and 5 fragments from settlement contexts. As with other previously published systematic categories of movable finds, these are predominantly finds from the phases of large-scale excavations carried out between 1954 and 1992; the set has now been expanded to include one new find: the sword hilt found using a metal detector in 2011. All the finds were obtained during systematic archaeological excavation carried out at the site since 1954 by the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno. The swords from Mikulčice form a unique collection, the quality of which depends primarily on the find circumstances. The fact that all 16 swords belong to specific graves at particular burial sites in a single locality make this set a unique source for studying social and cultural relations in Mikulčice and Great Moravia. The sword is not only a weapon and a masterpiece of the metal-worker’s craft, but is a particular symbol of the social status of the highest-ranking elites in early mediaeval society. The relatively narrow dating, limited to the 9th century, also makes this collection unique in terms of the comparative study of European weapons of the Early Middle Ages. The swords from Mikulčice are mostly products of foreign provenance, and therefore the study of these finds raises a number of questions concerning political, cultural, economic and social relations within Central Europe as it existed back them. They are excellent proof of contact with the Frankish environment.