A Medieval Hoard of Silver Ingots Discovered near Dernove Village in Sumy Oblast

In the article, a medieval hoard of silver payment ingots discovered in 2019 in the vicinity of Dernove village, Ukraine (Vorsklytsia River basin), is considered. The treasure consists of five stick-shaped ingots with a total weight of 981.95 g. The weight of the ingots is 194.56–198.98 g, length 14.3–15.4 cm, silver content is 98.1–98.5 %. An XRF elemental analysis of the metal’s composition and its comparison with medieval coins revealed the Central European origin of the pure silver. In the typological analysis, such ingots are most often classified by researchers as Novgorod type ingots, used as a means of payment during the coinless period in the history of Rus. However, the predominance of copper over lead in the ligature brings these ingots closer to Old Rus hexagonal ingots of the Kyiv type and short stick-shaped ingots of the Lithuanian type, rather than to similarly shaped “short” ingots of the Novgorod type. Long stick-shaped ingots not only differ in terms of production technology, but also have a slightly higher silver content on average than the short ones. This confirms N. Bauer’s opinion about the chronological significance of the length of Old Rus ingots, but it also supports the opinion of the researchers who distinguish long stick-shaped ingots as a separate type. The authors critically examine the chronological basis of ingots dating and conclude that the change of both types occurred no earlier than the 1340s. Each of the ingots from the Dernove hoard had from five to eight cuts or even two rows with different amount of cuts. The authors examine different hypotheses about the meaning of cuts rows on ingots. To conclude, the assumption that the proportion of ingot weight and the number of cuts on them can be used as a chronological indicator is supported. However, the hypothesis of a direct link between the cuts and the Golden Horde system of measuring the ingots value with coins of different weight lacks sufficient evidence. The unit of measuring marked with cuts on ingots changed its value much more often than any silver coins of the 13th and 14th centuries. The Dernove hoard forms one chronological group with treasures from Putyvl and Starikovo based on the shape and size of the ingots, as well as the cuts on the ingots. The appearance of these hoards is possible as a result of the historical events of the winter of 1289/1290 AD and the conflict between the Rus local princes and the Tatars over the Akhmat’s settlements.