A thousand-year-old rare silver plate from the "sabretache" in the grave of a Hungarian warrior

Near the village of Csomád near Budapest, a cavalry grave was discovered with a rare silver plate from a sabre case. The artifact, dating from the mid-10th century, consists of a silver outer plate riveted to an inner bronze plate, and served as a prestige and rank adornment for a flint instrument pouch.

A hierarchical clan system was common in Hungary thousands of years ago, which determined the ranks of men and their status. Soldiers wore decorated weapons, belts and instruments that marked their military ranks, positions and affiliations. The sabretache (from the German Säbeltasche) was a leather satchel that contained the basic tools for making fire: flint, tinder and a flint made of carbon steel.

These sheaths or also pouches were worn on the side, on the right side of the sword belt. They were decorated with bronze, silver or gold plates depending on the rank of the wearer and the proximity to the prince. Fewer than 30 similar satchel plates are known in Hungarian museums.

The discovery in an actively cultivated field was first reported by a volunteer from a local community archaeology program. Because of the threat of damage not only from ploughing but also from grave robbers, the archaeological remains were in immediate danger. Professionals therefore teamed up with volunteers and a quick survey of the area was conducted.

The team subsequently uncovered a male burial from the mid-10th century. The entire burial was recovered in one block and the surrounding soil and subsequently examined and preserved under laboratory conditions. This resulted in the recovery of many other objects in their original context. The material was first sent to the FMC restoration workshop, after which the wood and leather were restored.

The deceased warrior was stored with the archery equipment and the horse, some of whose remains have survived. Although the grave was damaged by agricultural work, the skeletal remains survive in unusually good condition. The intact metal slab even bore organic remains: "Thanks to the riveting between the bronze and silver parts of the plate, remnants of a leather strap remained between the two," said the head of restorationKrisztina Harazin-Szabó, the head of the restoration work, added that apart from the plaque, the grave contained many other objects whose restoration work is still ongoing.

The plaque itself has already been conserved and is now on display at the Ferenczy Museum in Szentendre, where it joins other decorative plaques made from sabre sheaths discovered in Hungary as part of an unprecedented specialised exhibition.

The Director General of the Hungarian National Museum, L. Simon László, concluded that the new findings show the exceptional quality and exemplary work of the archaeologists and restorers. He drew attention to the fact that archaeologists are underpaid and extremely busy. He said that if their salaries remain at the current, ten-year-old level, sooner or later the performance of archaeological tasks will be threatened. This carries the risk that finds such as the silver plate and other valuable archaeological treasures of national importance will never be discovered or end up on the black market.

Roman Němec

Sources: thehistoryblog.com, hungarytoday.hu, hungary.postsen.com

bronze and silver plaque in the museum's display case

Silver plate from the mid-10th century.

grave of a warrior from the mid-10th century

László L. Simon