Archaeologists uncover seventh century iron sabre at tomb in Hungary.

Archaeologists from the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest and the Szent István Király Museum in Székesfehérvár have uncovered a rare seventh century iron cavalry sabre, among other grave goods, while excavating what is believed to be the tomb of an Avar warrior. The tomb, which is near Székesfehérvár, was detected in satellite images by the 'Cemeteries from Space' program, a collaboration between several Hungarian museums which uses satellite and other remote sensing images to look for signs of ancient activity in croplands and other areas where they might not be obvious to people standing on the ground.

A seventh century cavalry sabre unearthed at a tomb in Hungary. The sword is corroded, but still intact. Szent István Király Museum.

The tomb is thought to have dated to between 670 and 690, and had been partially looted, but still contained grave goods including the sword, some silver belt fittings, gilded metal ornaments for braiding into hair, earrings made from glass beads, a long knife, and arrowheads. Other artefacts likely to have been present, such as the shafts of the arrows, and a leather belt for the silver fittings, and probably a leather quiver for the arrows, had decayed away. The skeleton of the warrior appears to have been damaged during the looting process, particularly around the chest area.

The remains of a Avar warrior unearthed in a seventh century tomb near Székesfehérvár in Hungary. Szent István Király Museum.

The Pannonian Avars occupied a large area of Central Europe during the sixth to ninth centuries, forming a state known as the Avar Khaganate, which at its peak stretched from Czechia to eastern Ukraine. Unfortunately, most of what we know about the Avars today comes from Byzantine sources, a civilisation with which their relations were not always good. Byzantine records suggest that they had migrated from Central Asia, and were probably related to the nomadic Avars of that region. They may have had a Turkic or Mongolian ruling class, or have fled Central Asia to avoid domination by such a group. Genetic studies of remains from Avar graves in Europe have confirmed a genetic relationship to the Avars of Central Asia, with both groups originating in northeast Asia. However, they were not related to the Avars of the Caucasus Region, who appear to have been a separate group. Such studies have also suggested that women left their parents households to join those of their husbands, which would imply a patrilineal society.  From the middle of the eighth century the Pannonian Avars began to lose territory in the west to the expanding Frankish Kingdom, with chiefdoms incorporated into that state being Christianised and losing their cultural distinctiveness. From the beginning of the ninth century, invading Bulgars from the east also began to seize territory from the Pannonians, eventually leading to the end of the Khaganate as a distinct political entity.

A piece of gilded metal, interpreted as an ornament which would have been worn on a hair braid, from the tomb of a seventh century Avar warrior near Székesfehérvár in Hungary. Szent István Király Museum.

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