Kazakh ax "balta" from the collection of Peter the Great Museum of anthropology and ethnography (analysis and the interdisciplinary research results)

The article deals with a battle-ax, which is stored in the collections of Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (MAE). The ax has a flat butt. The surface is decorated with ornament. This weapon was given to Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov by Kazakhs of Akmola region in 1890. The analysis of the ax design and decoration was held in the present publication. This analysis showed that the ax was made by Kazakh masters of the second half of the 18th century - the 80s of the 19th century. Axes of this type Kazakh nomads called “Balta”. Interdisciplinary experimental tests showed that the blows of axes “Balta” had a strong chopping and crushing effect. They represented a greater threat to the soldiers without armor, as well as for the soldiers dressed in armor made of cotton and fabrics.