Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Wosinszky Mór Múzeum Évkönyve 15. (Szekszárd, 1990)

Handelsbeziehungen - Johann Callmer: The beginning of the Easteuropean trade connections of Scandinavia and the Baltic Region in the eighth and ninth centuries A. D.

however a related and as a consequence of its dating most interesting find has come to light (Äijä 1988). A rich woman's grave excavated not far from Stockholm yielded among other finds two gold pendants - we may add that gold objects are exceptional grave finds -, bronze pendants, one of which features very early so called gripping beast style (Fig. 10) and very many beads-more than three hundred. There is a strong dominance of segment beads which dates the assemblage to the late eighth or early ninth century. Among the beads there are two oval cornelian beads and a rectangular cornelian bead. The former type is most unusual and has the closest parallells in the steppe zone and Caucasus (Deopik 1963 [tip b]). The rectangular bead is 10 mm long and 5 mm thick (Fig. 11). The edges on one side of the bead are bevelled. This side shows a cut decoration. The motive is a goat or an ibex and in front of the animal a bush or a branch. The motive and the material clearly suggests an Oriental origin and most probably from Persia where similar beads and sealstones are well-known from Sassanian and later contexts (Borisov & Lukonin 1963). There are numerous finds of belt mounts of nomad types in the Birka cemeteries. The majority of these mounts are adapted as pendants. Their date can in not one single case be fixed to a period earlier than the second half of the ninth century and in most cases to the end of the century. Oriental dress and textiles can have appeared quite early in the Baltic. Silk has been found on the E3 level at Staraja Ladoga, which means that it could possibly be dated before A. D. 800 (Davidan 1981104). From the Baltic region proper there are no finds of silk which can be dated before 800. From the first half of the ninth century there are silk finds both from Sweden and Norway (Bender Jorgensen 1986 p. 221, 241, 267). Goldthread embroidered textile fragments of possibly Oriental type however also occur in a very rich gravefind from Klinta near Borgholm on Oland. Beads and other objects in the find date it to the time ca. 800 (Hagberg 1967). Finds of buttons which are alien to earlier North and Westeuropean dress tradition must also be interpreted as an Oriental cultural element (Geijer 1938 143). Button finds can like the other Oriental imports not be dated before the end of the ninth century with the exception for one find. It is a low, rather flat silver button (diameter 15 mm and heighth 8 mm) from a very rich double or triple grave with more than 20 kg burnt bones, ten ceramic vessels of which two are imported Tating jugs from the Rhineland, four combs, weapon details etc. (Stockholm SHM 25917:22 Uppland, Täby parish, Roslags Näsby). There were also ca. 300 beads which could be dated to the time ca. 800 A. D. We have now seen that the although the material relevant to a discussion of the earliest regular contacts with the Orient is not too large and it is rather narrow material. There is however without doubt an archaeological material which can show us that from the end of the eighth century goods from the Orient flow into the Baltic Region. This archaeological material consists mainly of Oriental coins, mostly dirhams and halfdrachms, and beads. We shall now turn back to the three different aspects on the development of the connections with the East in the eighth century. Most surprisingly the strong indications in the Finnish material in the eighth century of long distance connections with the Volga-Kama area have no counterpart in the ninth century (Kivikoski 1964 216). The Finnish find material of the ninth century is largely characterized by local forms and imports from the West. The lacking finds of dirhams and 3 33