Journal Analele Banatului N.S. Archaeology-History

Daniela Tănase

Consideraţii cu privire la o aplică de faleră din epoca avară târzie descoperită la Timişoara-Podul Modoș / Considerations upon a Late Avar Phalera Applique Found at Timişoara-Podul Modoş

Jan. 1, 2015

Abstract

In the necropolis from Timişoara – Podul Modoş, dated to the Late Avar period, in Tomb no 4, next to the peak of a dagger, an anthropomorphic/zoomorphic gilt bronze phalera was found. This is actually a fragment of a harness phalera, reused as a scabbard applique. Phalerae with the same type of decoration were discovered in the warrior tombs from the north-western part of the Carpathian Basin, in Komárno, Bratislava, Smolenice (Slovakia) and Mikulčice (Czech Republic). Some researchers believe that on this type of phalerae is represented the head of a dog or a lion. In my opinion, it is the representation of a stylized human head that has animal features: heavy raised eyebrows, resembling the ears of a dog or of a wolf, a canopy that resembles a lion's mane, perhaps embodying a mythological character (whose representation could require livestock attributes). Its identity had not been yet deciphered. The prototype of the decorative pattern of these artifacts must be sought in the Asian world, within the repertoire of Iranian art of the Sassanid and post-Sassanid era. During the Avar era, images of men were mostly represented on amulets, pendants and belt pieces, ornamental placards on horse saddles or bells decorating the harness. Al these played an apotropaic role. The bronze harness phalerae with human or animal representations were produced by Avar craftsmen in the Carpathian Basin during the 8th century AD; their spreading range covered mostly the north of the Khaganate. Since the closest analogies are to be found in northwestern Carpathian Basin, not just for the anthropomorphic figure from Timisoara-Podul Modoş, but also for other items found in the necropolis, there may have been close links between these border regions of the Avar Khaganate. I do believe that the phalera applique arrived in the Banat region via a carrier, a warrior and not as a result of activity itinerant craftsman. Associating certain attire sets and jewelry (perforated belt straps, decorated with vegetal motifs: stylized lilies) with weapons and harness parts (phalerae, bells), may reveal a warrior's emblematic style, of the one that had the mission to oversee and defend the borders of the Avar Khaganate. Unlike for the previous centuries, in the Late Avar era, graves of horsemen or armed men tombs are to be found only in borderlands. In light of the above, in my opinion that given the funerary discoveries from Timișoara-Podul Modoş, one can prove the existence of a defensive line of the eastern the Avar Khaganate border in Banat. Here, warrior tombs were discovered only west of the two earth waves crossing the region from north to south, built in the late Roman era, and constituting a border between the 6th and 8th c AD. A concentration of military objectives was also identified in the southern flank of the Khaganate, relevant in this respect being the cemeteries with graves of armed horsemen discovered in the Belgrade region. So, the graves of Timișoara-Podul Modoş, containing weapons and horse bones, prove the presence of a military elite watching and defending the south-eastern flank of the Avar Khaganate border.