Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

HALL 7 - The early Migration period: the Huns and the Germanic peoples (c. 420-568 A.D.) (Ágnes B. Tóth)

89. Gold crossbow brooch set with onyx from Szilágysomlyó. First half of the 5th century 90. Silver brooches covered with gold foil, decorated with garnets en cabochon from Szilágysomlyó. First half of the 5th century the exhibition, were no doubt worn by highranking individuals. The gold crossbow brooch set with an onyx (Fig. 89) was a gift from a Roman emperor, together with a ceremonial mantle. The "oath ring" was an insignia of rank. The gold cups, which could be suspended from the belt, were crafted in the nomadic taste and style. The greater part of the assemblage, however, had belonged to Gepidic princesses. Ten pairs of superb brooches, three of pure gold, the rest of silver covered with gold foil, were used for fastening garments at the shoulder. These elegant brooches were ornamented with the typical decorative techniques of the period: their surface was covered with inlaid gems, delicately punched patterns, filigree, granulation and pressed animal mounts (Fig. 90). The two treasures had probably been hidden in haste on the fringes of their settlement territory during the Gepids' flight in the mid-5th century. The women of the royal family of the Germanic Sciri, another people who had allied themselves with the Huns, were buried at Bakodpuszta near Kalocsa. Most of the jewellery pieces worn by the two princesses had been made during the Hun period: one princess 119 had worn the gold necklace with icicle pendants, the boar headed bracelets, the large gold buckle and the two gold finger-rings, and a dress studded with ornaments of pressed gold foil; the other princess had a necklace of garnet beads, two gold finger-rings and a pair of earrings with polyhedral pendant (Fig. 91 ). A third grave contained the burial of one of their attendants, laid to rest with more modest jewellery: silver brooches and a pair of earrings with a polyhedral pendant. These women were probably buried after the collapse of the Hun rule, a date suggested by the fact that the written sources record that this area had been settled by the Scirs after 455 and that not one single noteworthy find from the preceding Hun period has yet been found around Kalocsa. The gem inlaid frame of a ceremonial shield belonging to a Germanic king was recovered from the Sárvíz marshland, into which it had been deposited sometime in the last third of the 5 th century. Its owner had