General Conclusions 407
civilisation (‘Imitatio Imperii’).28 From the middle of the 7th century a cultural
transformation led to a new type of armed elite, which gave way to the warrior
culture of the periphery during the 8th and first half of the 9th century.
The major function of every offensive weapon is to injure or kill the enemy
but various symbolic meanings can also be attributed to weapons, and there-
fore not only its effectivity is important but also its role within social sys-
tems like the Avar army and society. Some of the weapons are suitable for
identification in respect of their original function, while others reveal aspects
of social hierarchy. Most weapons, however, are simply a basis for tracing the
changing tendencies of armoury, since they were developing in close interac-
tion with one another.
28 See the so-called ‘Prunkgrab’ concept of Georg Kossack (1974, 32).