Martynivka Treasure

Martynivka Treasure
Part of the Martynivka hoard on display in the British Museum
Material	Silver and precious stones
Created	6th-7th Centuries AD
Period/culture	Nomad
Present location	National Historical Museum of Ukraine and British Museum
Identification	1912,0610.1-22 (BM)

Martynivka Treasure (Ukrainian: Мартинівський скарб, Martynivsky skarb) is a hoard consisting of 116 silver items (weighing about 3.3 kg) found in 1909, in the village of Martynivka, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. The treasure is currently preserved at the National Historical Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv and the British Museum in London.^[1] It is dated approximately to the 6th-7th centuries AD.

Origin

Historians proposed different theories for the culture which this treasure could have belonged. The most popular hypothesis connects this hoard with Penkovo culture of Antes.

Description

The hoard includes four anthropomorphic silver figurines of 'dancing men' (Ukrainian newspapers sometimes refer to them as 'aliens' for their unusual appearance^[2]), five animal figurines, three fibulas, a radiate-head brooch, six armlets, tiaras, ear rings, neck rings, buckles, belt-fittings and horse harnesses. The style of figurines is sometimes considered as influenced by Huns, Bulgars or Avars.^[3]

References

^ British Museum Collection
^ "Энциклопедия аномальных явлений".
^ "British Museum Highlights". Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2017-06-15.

Literature

Клейн Л. С. Пляшущие человечки Конан-Дойля на Руси // Троицкий вариант — Наука. № 99. С. 14.
Корзухина Г. Ф. Клады и случайные находки вещей круга «Древностей антов» в Среднем Поднепровье. Каталог памятников // МАИЭТ. Вып. V. Симферополь, 1996. С. 352—425, 525—705.
Рыбаков Б. А. Древние русы // Советская археология. Т. XVII. 1953. С. 76-89.
Dafydd Kidd, Ludmilla Pekarskaya, New Insight into the 6th-7th Century Silver Hoard from Martynovka (Ukraine), Mémoires de l'Association française d'archéologie mérovingienne, 1995, p. 351-360.