Database
Our database is free to use for all history and archaeology enthusiasts. If you use our database, please do not forget to cite correctly:
Mägi, Marika; Palm, Piia Sandra. Archaeological Artefacts of Saaremaa. Foundation Osiliana / Tallinn University. Accessed: date.
The Osiliana Archaeological Database presents artefacts from Saaremaa and the surrounding small islands.
The database contains mainly Iron Age and Medieval finds that can be classified.
Undated metal or other pieces were generally excluded from the database.
Ceramics are represented by isolated examples.
The database is a work in progress and is constantly being updated.
Ure
Crossbow brooch, bronze. The upper part is missing. The foot has been bent backward for a needle container and wrapped around the arch like a wire for four times. Underneath that and towards the foot of the arch are traces of gold plating.
Crossbow brooch, bronze. The upper part is missing. The foot has been bent backward for a needle container and wrapped around the arch like a wire for four times. Underneath that and towards the foot of the arch are traces of gold plating. That type of brooches was common in Estonia mainly during the 2-3d century, but they can also be dated to the 4th-5th century (Randla 2005, 123 jj). In Courland, similar ones have been dated to 2-3rd centuries. (Tautaviśius 1968, 131-13; Griciuvienė 2009, 33, 46).
Literature:
Griciuvienė, E (prepared by). 2009. Kuršiai. Genties kultūra laidosenos duomenimis. Baltų archeologijos paroda. Katalogas. The Curonians. Tribe Culture According to the Burial Data. Baltic Archaeological Exhibition. Catalogue. Vilnius –Riga.
Rohtla, M.-L. 2005. Crossbow fibula as a reflection of social status and relations. – Culture and Material Culture. Interarchaeologia, 1. Ed. by V. Lang. Tartu – Riga – Vilnius, 121–145.
Tautavićius, A (ed.) 1968. Lietuvos archeologiniai paminklai. Lietuvos pajūrio I-VII a. kapinynas. Vilnius.
Ure
Artefact fragment, iron. Circular cross-section. The head is flat, and decorated with concentric circles.
Artefact fragment, iron. Circular cross-section. The head is flat, and decorated with concentric circles.
Ure
Knife fragment, iron. Part of the tang and blade. The cross-section of the tang is flat quadrilateral. The cross-section of the blade is triangular and the width of the back is 4 mm.
Knife fragment, iron. Part of the tang and blade. The cross-section of the tang is flat quadrilateral. The cross-section of the blade is triangular and the width of the back is 4 mm.
Knife (?) fragment, iron.
Ure
Rod of iron, curved.
Ure
Fragment of silver-plating. Ornament on the top consisting of three double circles, flanked by a band of small circles.
Fragment of silver-plating. Ornament on the top consisting of three double circles, flanked by a band of small circles.
Ure
Propeller-shaped mount, bronze. It has been hanging from a belt, fixed with the broken part.
Parallels:
Mounts of sword belt from the weapon sacrifice Ejsbølgård D (Andersen 2003, 251, fig. 8. Photo Hadersel Museum/ Steen Hendriksen).
Reconstructed belt from Nydam fyretree boat (Jørgensen & Petersen 2003, 267, fig. 8; photo National Museum/ John Lee).
Propeller-shaped mount, bronze. It has been hanging from a belt, fixed with the broken part.
See also Ure finds SM10862: 1, 4, 90, 117.
Such propeller-shaped fittings that hanged from a belt are normally considered Germanic, but were clearly influenced by Roman fashion. They decorate so-called ‘officers belts’ found near the pinetree-boat at Nydam sacrificial place in Denmark. Very similar belt ornaments, plated with silver and gold, are known from Ejsbølgård sacrifice, e. g. weapon offering D, dated 250-300 AD (Andersen 2003, 251-253).
Sword-belts decorated with propeller-shaped fittings have been also found in other sacrificial places, e.g. Skedemosse on the island of Öland (Monikander 2010, 46) and in South-Scandinavian elite graves, e. g. in a chamber grave at Lilla Jored (Sweden), Lærkenfeld (Denmark), or Sætrang (Norway) (Rau 2014).
In the Eastern Baltic, propeller-shaped mounts have been recorded so far in two sites: Kambja in Southern Estonia and Lejas-Kleperis in Northern Latvia (Moora 1929, pl. XXX: 14; 1938, 477). Five specimens are recorded in Ure. As suggested by the parallels mentioned above, they may originate from the same belt as the mount SM10862:9. The propeller-shaped mounts in Ure represent two different sizes, possibly indicating two sacrificed belts.
Belts decorated with propeller-shaped silver or silver-plated fittings are considered to belong to the commanders of the armies.
Literature:
Andersen, H. Chr. H. 2003. Nye undersøgelser i Ejsbøl mose. – Sejrens triumf. Norden i skyggen af det romerske imperium. Ed. by L. Jørgensen, B. Storgaard & L. Gebauer Thomsen. København, 246–256.
Jørgensen, E. & Petersen, P. V. 2003. Nydam mose – nye fund og iagttagelser. – Sejrens triumf. Norden i skyggen af det romerske imperium. Ed. by L. Jørgensen, B. Storgaard & L. Gebauer Thomsen. København, 258–294.
Monikander, A. 2010. Våld och vatten. Våtmarkskult vid Skedemosse under järnåldern. – Stockholms Studies in Archaeology, 52. Stockholm. Read the article: here.
Moora, H. 1929. Die Eisenzeit in Lettland: bis etwa 500. N. Chr. Tafeln zum I. Teil. Tartu-Dorpat.
Moora, H. 1938. Die Eisenzeit in Lettland: bis etwa 500. N. Chr. II. Teil : Analyse. Tartu.
Mägi, M. 2021. Scandinavian chieftains in Saaremaa? Archaeological investigations in Ure, a probable Roman Period sacrificial place. – Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2020, 73-90. Read the article: here.
Rau, A. 2014. Spätkaiserzeitlich-frühvölkerwanderungszeitliche Kammergräber der Sætrang-Lilla Jored-Gruppe. – Kammergräber im Barbaricum. Zu Einflüssen und Übergangsphänomenen von der vorrömischen Eisenzeit bis in die Völkerwanderungszeit. Ed. by N. Lau & A. Abegg-Wigg. Wachholtz, 145-166. Read the article: here.
Ure
Iron fragment (of a spearhead socket?). A curved plate. In that case, the diameter of the socket would be around 2.5 cm.
Iron fragment (of a spearhead socket?). A curved plate. In that case, the diameter of the socket would be around 2.5 cm.
