Avar-Age Polearms and Edged Weapons. Classification, Typology, Chronology and Technology

x Acknowledgements

Russian and Ukrainian experts were of great help in my research on eastern

analogies: Igor Gavritukhin, Dmitrii Korobov, Umar J. Kochkarov, I. Kyzlasov

(Moscow), Dmitrii Stashenkov and Anna Kochkina (Samara), Oleksii Komar

(Kiev), while Bulgarian colleagues showed me interesting analogies in Varna:

Valeri Yotov and Boyan Totev.

My special thanks go to my German correspondents who not only helped

me with the necessary literature unavailable for me, but their insights, sugges-

tions and advices contributed considerably to the improvement of this work:

Raimar Kory, Sebastian Brather and Heinrich Härke. I would like to express my

gratitude to Professor Florin Curta for his useful advices, inspiring comments

and encouragement for publishing this volume.

Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their support and encourage-

ment throughout my study.