Копьё и топор. Оружие в средневековых погребениях запада Новгородской земли
Lance and Axe: Weapons in Medieval Burials in the Western Part of the Novgorod Land

Summary/Abstract: Weapon are not typically found in Novgorod Land burials of the 8th—10th centuries. A new funerary rite was formed with the adoption of Christianity, with a number of specific features — erection of burial mounds, costume and headdress of the interred. Weapons, mainly spears and axes of various types, appear in male burials of the 11th—13th centuries, which can be connected with distribution of a new faith and self-identification of the local population. Concentration of burials with weapons in the border areas marks the western and north-western borders of the Novgorod Land and their defense systems. Such burials gradually disappeared starting from the second half of the 12th century. It is associated with the evangelization of the population, changes in land relations and in the military organization of Novgorod.

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