A bronze strap-end decorated with stylised plant motifs in the form of two intertwined branches with five-leaf and three-leaf palmettes. Metallographic studies have shown that the strap-end was made of copper and tin alloy and has traces of gild. It was made using a lost-wax casting technique and processed using carving and chiselling.
The object was revealed during archaeological excavations at multicultural site at Zemborzyce-Dąbrowa (which is now Lublin-Dąbrowa site 19, “settlement on the headland”) conducted in 1984-1985 by the staff from the Department of Archaeology of the Lublin Museum. It was found in a survey trench in a cultural layer at a depth of 50 cm.
The strap-end from Zemborzyce-Dąbrowa is a unique find since it is one of a few known traces indicating contacts of Slavic tribes from the south-eastern region of Poland with the areas of the Avar Khaganate. This object could find its way to the village near Lublin through the Slavic tribes (e.g. Moravians) which directly bordered with the Avars, probably after the collapse of the Khaganate.
Chronology:
the second half of the 8th century and the first half of the 9th century AD
Museum collection:
the Lublin Museum
by M. Stasiak-Cyran