Orlat Battle Plaque\'s Importance

[Alanus]

Hello John,

You favor a late date and fall in with Boris Marshak. M.V. Gorelik even advanced the plaque's date to the White Hun / Epthalite period.

I'm inclined to agree with G.A.Pugachenkova who placed it in the "Sarmatian horizen" 2nd cent. BC to 1st cent. AD. One reason for "early" is the stylized horse on the Altai rug (or wall hanging) as posted just above.

The plaque shows wedge-shaped grip checks, not straight ones. These were popular from the Warring States period to the Three Kingdoms era, but not later. The blunted-ended chape follows the same time-pattern. Here is a late Warring States to early Han sword in my collection:
[attachment=409]WSsword.2.JPG[/attachment]
This museum replica sword has all the characteristics of those on the plaque except for the scabbard slide.
The other thing worth noting is the multiple depiction of disk pommels. Every sword has one, and we can even see the pin on one of them. All the swords have two-handed grips, falling in with Tacitus and also the Warring States to early Han archaeological examples. Here are originals dated to the early argumentative date. Look at the long grips!
[attachment=410]earlyhanswords014.JPG[/attachment]
And here are late Warring States to early Han fittings found on the above swords, nearly identical grip checks and disk pommels to the Orlat illustration:
[attachment=412]earlyhanswords013.JPG[/attachment]


Here is a late "migration era" Hunnic sword or four centuries later:
[attachment=411]earlyhanswords012.JPG[/attachment]
It has a short one-handed grip. Even the Alanic and Gothic swords of the late third centuries had single-handed grips. And late grip checks are straight across, top and bottom parallel to each other.

Well anyway, these are my findings. I seem to be limited to 3 or 4 photos per post before the "thread cops" kick in. We need to address the bows, because they are not necessarily Hunnic. Take care.