Horsemen in social structures of Central European Barbaricum – Analysis 2: spatial analysis

Abstract The article is the second publication summarizing the project aimed at searching for clues regarding the social position and functions of the dead equipped with spurs buried in the cemeteries of the Central European Barbaricum. The main assumption of the project was to analyse the location of graves with spurs in selected cemeteries in search of any regularities regarding the location of horsemen graves and their relations with other graves in the necropolis. The following analysis covered eight cemeteries from the Central European area of Barbaricum , four cemeteries of the Przeworsk culture – Chorula, Lachmirowice, Chmielów Piaskowy, and Opatów – two cemeteries of the Wielbark culture – Kowalewko and Weklice – one cemetery of the Sudovian culture – Szwajcaria – and a necropolis belonging to the Elbe cultural circle in Hamfelde. The obtained results clearly indicate that the special character of spurs emphasized in the literature is confirmed by spatial relations. The regularities observed in the cemeteries of communities that buried their dead with weapons concerned almost exclusively the graves of mounted warriors. It is significant that these regularities did not apply to graves with spurs, in which no weapons were found and therefore cannot be considered warrior burials. Such objects most often did not fit into the observed spatial structures and were located in the cemetery space without any noticeable regularities. The regularities regarding the choice of the burial place of deceased mounted warriors seem to be one of the aspects of distinguishing their position and importance by the mourners. The universality of these rules should be considered as evidence of the stabilized position of the rider in the analysed prehistoric societies, which also indicates their homogeneity in this respect. This becomes a valuable clue, especially in the context of the analysis and interpretation of materials from Wielbark culture cemeteries where, so far, there have been no grounds for drawing conclusions about the presence of a warrior strata.