Origins And Cultural Contacts 311
in the forest-steppe variant of the Saltovo culture, though the blade of these
spearheads is lenticular and equipped with a central rib.33
1.2 P-shaped Suspension Loops
P-shaped suspension loopes appeared more or less contemporaneously
throughout Eurasia, distribution of these suspension loops will be presented
from East to West in the following lines. Swords with two-point suspension
were already known from the second half of the 6th century in the Far East.
The chronology of swords in China is facilitated by the fact that these weapons
were exclusively found in high-status burials (generals and emperors), which
can be dated by inscriptions to a specific year. Swords with P-shaped suspen-
sion loops are known from the grave of General Li Xian (569) at Ningxia and
from the grave of the Emperor Wudi (died in 578) at Xianyang.34 Ring-pommel
swords with P-shaped suspension loops were widely spread throughout China
during the Sui- and Tang-dynasties (map 51).35
This mode of suspension spread in the Far East probably as a result of
Chinese influence. This type of suspension loop is known from Japan from
the first half of the 8th century as represented by the sabre of the Shosoin
treasure at the Todeiji temple which is decorated with gold and silver sheets.36
According to the attributes of this edged weapon (curved blade and false edge)
it can be regarded as the first Far Eastern sabre.
No suspension loops are known from Inner Asia except for some uncertain
examples from grave No. 9 at the Kudyrge cemetery.37 However, several rep-
resentations are known from the Sogdian wall paintings of Central Asia. It is
important to note that the wall paintings on the southern wall of the 1st build-
ing at Afrasiab (Old Samarkand) from the 7th century, depict not only edged
33 Similar spearheads (with different blade shape) are known at the Sukhaia Gomolsha cem-
etery from cremation burials: Mikheev 1985, 118. ris. 9.119, ris. 10/12, 120. ris. 11; Aksenov –
Mikheev 2006, 111. ris. 40/1, ris. 63/8. ris. 72/2.
34 Koch 1998a, 574.
35 Alexender Koch (1998a, 572–584, Abb. 1) listed them from Shaanxi, Henan, Gansu and
Shanxi provinces. (Finsterbusch 1976).
36 The treasure of Shosoin contains the wealth of Emperor Shomu (701–756) and his fam-
ily, dating the sabre to the first half of the 8th century. According to the inventory of this
treasure the sabre is of Chinese style or origin (Shirakihara 1978, 35–36).
37 Anatolij Ambroz (1986b) described the sword from grave No. 9 at the Kudyrge cemetery
with P-shaped suspension loops, however, its function is not unequivocal according
to Gavrilova’s publication (1965, 24, tabl. XVII/10–11). Next to the dagger (not sword!) a
hooked iron band was found, probably aiding its suspension. No analogy is known for that
artefact.