On the study of armour from the Eurasian steppes dating from the early iron age (parallels, mutual influences and origins)

The development of weaponry is clearly bound up with the military history of the societies concerned and reflects progressive technical ideas, such as the use of different materials in the advance of design and technology. There exist three categories of sources for the study of defensive weaponry: written information about weapons, materials in which weapons are depicted and archaeological finds. Materials from the Filippovka 1 burial-ground constitute a unique source for the study of defensive weaponry, since over 12 items of such weaponry have been found there made from a variety of materials (iron, bronze and bone) and using various techniques. Two finds have been studied by the author. Individual elements of the armour from the Filippovka 1 burial-ground (broad shoulder-guards and additional pieces of chest armour) show that long swords and spears were used in battle, which have also been found in the burial-ground. In the middle of the I millennium BC, a number of innovations were introduced indicating contacts with distant societies. Studied parts of armour - wide shoulder-guards, lamellar details, broad plates, fasteners with rattle-bells -indicate links with Iran or the Near East. Similar cuts and front fasteners are also known in Chinese armour, which perhaps result from the influence of steppe weaponry.