January 2025
Early medieval saddle decoration made of antler plates from a woman’s grave in Bavaria
In the mid-1990s, a looted chamber grave of a woman buried with her mule was discovered in Aufhausen/Bergham (Erding, Germany). A separate compartment of the burial chamber was disturbed but escaped robbery. In it, the almost intact bone fittings of a saddle bow were found in situ, as well as other fragments of bone fittings belonging to the saddle. The finds are complemented by a richly decorated snaffle bit made of iron and bronze, a number of magnificent bronze and silver fittings from the bridle and other horse tack, as well as iron buckles from saddle girths and bridle. The metal fittings of Frankish origin allow dating from the late 7th to early 8th century.
At the beginning of the 2020s, these finds could be examined more closely, which led to the conclusion that the lady was buried with not just one but two saddles both decorated with antler plates from red deer. The dimensions of the fittings on the saddle’s front arch (fig. 1) as well as the corresponding fragments of the rear arch and the wings belonging to this saddle conclusively show that this is a women’s sideways saddle for a mule (fig. 2-3). The fittings of the second saddle indicate a conventional riding saddle in the style of the steppe nomads (fig. 4). Whereas the decorations on the latter saddle represent a variant of the interlace ornament common in Avar as well as Old Turkish culture, the combination of interlace ornament and floral patterns on the women’s saddle is puzzling. It is assumed that it originated „between Friuli and Lake Balaton“.
Bone fittings on saddles have a long tradition in the equestrian nomadic environment and are mainly known from the Avars in Merovingian Europe. They are a rare find in Western Europe, in this case possibly helped by the calcareous alpine “alm”-soil in which the grave was dug, which is favourable for preservation.
Dimensions of the front saddlebow: height 30 cm, depth 0,1-0,2 cm, width 30 cm.
Bettina Keil-Steentjes
Fig. 1: front bow of the sideways saddle; fig. 2: reconstruction of the sideways saddle; fig. 3: terracotta figurine with sideways saddle; fig.4: antler plates of the second saddle with interlacing pattern (Photos: Harald Krause, Museum Erding).
References:
• Keil-Steentjes, Bettina & Päffgen, Bernd (2024): Das Reitzeug aus dem spätmerowingerzeitlichen Kammergrab der Dame von Aufhausen/Bergham (Stadt Erding). – Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 54, 51-74
• Paulus, Christof / Nadler, Michael / Ketzer, Christine / Andres, Won / Handle-Schubert, Elisabeth / Jörgensen, Bent / Lichtl, Julia / Scherrer, Andreas / Zödi-Schmidt, Natascha (2024): Tassilo, Korbinian und der Bär. Bayern im frühen Mittelalter. – Veröffentlichungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 73, 196-199