Rethinking Miniature Axes

This article presents five newly discovered miniature axe amulets from Bács-Kiskun County in the Carpathian Basin, significantly expanding the known corpus of such objects in Central and Eastern Europe. With a total of eighteen examples now documented from Hungary, including a notable concentration in the southern Great Plain, these finds invite a critical reassessment of existing interpretations. Traditionally linked to the Rus’ cultural sphere and often interpreted as elite or ritual objects, miniature axes are here recontextualized as items associated with local settlement environments, frequently recovered through repeated metal detector surveys. The variation in form, decoration, and raw materials, particularly the use of lead and tin, suggests a more diverse cultural significance than previously assumed. By integrating typological, spatial, and methodological evidence, this study challenges prevailing narratives and underscores the importance of regional dynamics in shaping early medieval symbolic practices

Elite · Narrative · Pannonian basin · Settlement (finance) · Structural basin · The Symbolic · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies

• Ankstyvųjų Viduramžių Makarovo 2 tipo miniatiūriniai kirviai Baltijos jūros regione

  Open Access•Paweł Kucypera, ławomir Wadyl et al.•Archaeologia Lituana•2011

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