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 fragment, silver and bronze. The upper part of the arc of the brooch. There used to be a silver ring garniture on the neck. Probably there have been two silver ring garnitures with a triple bronze(?) set between them, lower than the previous one. The fractured cross-section of the neck is square, head is flat.
Crossbow brooch fragment, silver and bronze. The upper part of the arc of the brooch. There used to be a silver ring garniture on the neck. Probably there have been two silver ring garnitures with a triple bronze(?) set between them, lower than the previous one. The fractured cross-section of the neck is square, head is flat. The brooch may belong to the 3rd century, but more likely to the 4th-5th century (Rohtla 2005, 126-127).
Literature:
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.
Ure
Pin of the brooch, bronze or silver. It might have belonged to a similar brooch as SM10862:51. The part of the head is twisted into a loop and between this loop there seems to be an iron residue, i.e. a remnant of the spiral axis.
Ure
Piece of gold plate from a crossbow brooch (?), most probably from the arc. Embossed ornament with two zones of buttons and two zones of slashes between them. Ornament is similar to that of brooch nr SM10862:18.
Photo: Jaana Ratas.
Piece of gold plate from a crossbow brooch (?), most probably from the arc. Embossed ornament with two zones of buttons and two zones of slashes between them. Ornament is similar to that of brooch nr SM10862:18.
Ure
Knife fragment, iron, the width of the back is around 3 mm. Tip of the tang.
Ure
Crossbow brooch fragment, silver. A spiral coil wound around an iron rod with the fragment of a spring cord. The silver spring cord cross-section is otherwise rounded, but flattens out at the end of the cover – it must have been attached to an arch. It might belong to the Roman Iron Age.
Ure
Knife fragment, iron, the width of the back is around 3 mm. Tip of the tang.
Ure
Crossbow brooch, bronze + silver + iron, and a fragment of burnt pipe bone. Triangular foot. The brooch has a small spring cord with relatively long knobs with ring decoration extending to either side. It has a flat arc and the foot is flat, shaped into a trapezoid. On the top of the foot was a silver plate which had been fastened with two pins. The back of the leg had a remnant of bronze mount, with a small bronze rivet attached to it – probably a pinhole had been attached to the leg with bronze mounts. The needle is missing.
First photo: Jaana Ratas.
Crossbow brooch, bronze + silver + iron, and a fragment of burnt pipe bone. Triangular foot. The brooch has a small spring cord with relatively long knobs with ring decoration extending to either side. It has a flat arc and the foot is flat, shaped into a trapezoid. On the top of the foot was a silver plate which had been fastened with two pins. The back of the leg had a remnant of bronze mount, with a small bronze rivet attached to it – probably a pinhole had been attached to the leg with bronze mounts. The needle is missing. It is a local brooch, that type was common in coastal Estonia in the 4th-5th centuries (Rohtla 2005, 130-131).
Literature:
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.
Ure
Melted piece, silver or bronze.
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.
