In the middle of nowhere. Unique sword scabbard chape from Niepołomice Forest

Abstract

Detector recognition carried out in Lesser Poland in last few years deliver a wealth of movable historical artefacts. One of them is a sword scabbard chape made of a copper alloy discovered in the middle of Niepołomice Forest. The paper subjected this artefact to typological classifications, comparative analysis, dating and ethnocultural characterization. Sword scabbard chapes in this type are very rare finds and most of them were discovered in southern and eastern Europe in Bulgaria, Ungarn and Ukraine, and are dated to the second half of the 10th and the 11th century. Specimen from Niepołomice Forest was presumably created in one of these areas and ended up here via one of the trade routes that intersected in Cracow.