From the Central Region Towards the Peripheries. A Chronological Analysis of a Prestige Good : the Mount Ornamented Sabretache

Gáll, Erwin and Fülöp, Réka and Nagy, Szabolcs (2025) From the Central Region Towards the Peripheries. A Chronological Analysis of a Prestige Good : the Mount Ornamented Sabretache. MATERIALE SI CERCETARI ARHEOLOGICE-SERIE NOUA, 21. pp. 291-313. ISSN 1220-5222

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Abstract

The spatial and chronological spread of sabretaches decorated with mounts, one of the emblematic prestige goods of the Hungarian Conquest period, represents a relatively underexplored area of 10th‑century funerary archaeology. The present study examines the dating of this category of objects through five aspects. It concluding that although the spread of this specific item – considered a symbol of societal prestige – begins with the Hungarian Conquest, and its use is traceable as early as the 9th century, the quantitative peak of its usage was reached significantly later, during the mid‑to‑late 10th century. Other than the early/earlier examples from Karos and Szeged, a significant number of such items can be dated to much later periods. This clearly suggests that a parallel use of sabretaches decorated with mounts and those decorated with plates occurred, moreover, the specimen from Choma dates later than all known plate‑decorated sabretaches. The sabretaches from the Upper Tisza region, Cluj‑Napoca, and Przemyśl share structural similarities, in contrast to the examples from the Szeged and Budapest’s surroundings, and these structural similarities hold a chronological significance as well. It can be asserted, based on the earliest identifiable examples from the Upper Tisza region, that the spread of sabretaches decorated with mounts, similarly to those decorated with plates, appears to follow a multi‑phase chronological process, the latest occurrences being those from Cluj‑Napoca, Choma, and Przemyśl – in southern Poland. This fact likely has geopolitical and geoeconomic explanations, as both regions are known for their significant salt resources.

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