Krasnoyarsk archaeologists showed a rare collection of iron knives

In Krasnoyarsk, Siberian Federal University archaeologists showed a little-known collection of knives from the Xiongnu era to the Middle Ages. They are stored in Yeniseisk in the museum-reserve named after A.I. Kytmanov.

Scientists noted that the knives arrived at the museum at the end of the 19th century, but were not described and were unfamiliar to scientists. At the same time, the collection is one of the largest in the Yenisei Siberia and will expand the understanding of the culture and life of the medieval population of the taiga zone.

“Archaeological expeditions are not always trips to the taiga, mountains and swamps. Sometimes, in order to find good materials, you need to travel to small regional museums and carefully sort through old collections. It was precisely as a result of this work that they were able to collect, systematize and publish a collection of iron knives consisting of 17 items. Most of them retain traces of the effects of fire (scale), which suggests that the knives come from already destroyed burials,” said Polina Sentorusova, a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Archeology of Yenisei Siberia.

Similar knives are not found in other territories, representatives of the Siberian Federal University note. Their pommels are designed in the form of a loop or ring. This form was found in Eurasia only in the Xiongnu era (2nd century BC – 2nd century AD), but in the Yenisei taiga they “lingered” until the 14th century.

“It is important that the collection presents items from different periods. We dated the knives from the era of the great migration of peoples – the Xiongnu time (II century BC – II century AD) and up to the developed Middle Ages (XI-XIV centuries AD) inclusive. It was possible to trace how the shape of the tools changed over time, what types of knives were used in different chronological periods. This is important because it allows us to clarify the age of other finds,” explained senior researcher at the Laboratory of Archeology of Yenisei Siberia, researcher at the Yenisei Museum-Reserve named after. A. I. Kytmanova Ksenia Biryuleva.

Newslab now in MAX. News is also published in OK | VK | Zen | Telegram