Fragment of propeller-shaped belt fitting, iron. Middle part.
See also Ure finds SM10862: 1, 4, 33, 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.
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.