274 CHAPTER 3
Swords with P-shaped suspension loops spread during the second half of
the 6th century throughout Eurasia (map 51).476 A P-shaped suspension loop
(S.4) is a general term for loops of various shape (B-shaped and triple-arched
examples are also known) and use from the 6th–8th centuries. P-shaped sus-
pension loops were distributed geographically across a huge area, from Italy
to Japan,477 and are found not only among steppe nomadic people but also
amongst settled civilisations as well. Their appearance can be regarded as both
an important chronological feature and an innovation in warfare that was
widely spread across Eurasia.
Research on P-shaped suspension loops played a significant role in Avar
archaeology from its very beginnings.478 These types were erroneously
interpreted according to ethnic differences, rather than by chronological
differences.479 These suspension loops were studied and listed by Csanád
Bálint from across the whole of Eurasia who first drew attention to its distribu-
tion among settled civilisations.480
Several attempts were made to classify the shapes and decoration of these
P-shaped suspension loops.481 Three main forms of such loops can be distin-
guished: a. Those with big semicircular head and a short curved projection,
b. Where the length of the semicircular head and the projection is equal,
c. Those where the projection is longer than the head (fig. 99).482
3.2.1 Big Semicircular Head and Short, Curved Projection (S.4.a)
This type is the most common suspension loop during the Early phase in
the Carpathian Basin: 33 pieces are currently known (map 49, figs. 100–101).
476 The map is based on the lists of: Ambroz 1986b; Bálint 1993, 29–31; Koch 1998a, 572–584.
477 Bálint 1993, 269–270; for Far Eastern pieces: Koch 1998a, 571–598.
478 Nándor Fettich (1926a, 166–171; Fettich 1926b, 1–14) called them Kul-Oba–Taman’ type,
and regarded them as evidence for Pontic influence. Dezső Csallány (1939, 121–180) called
these swords the Kiszombor – Deszk type and dated them to the Early phase.
479 Bóna considered ring-pommel swords, following Csanád Bálint (1978, 206), as being of
Far Eastern or Inner Asian origin, while swords with P-shaped suspension loops to be of
Central Asian origin (Bóna 1980, 51–52; Bóna 1984a, 310–311). This assumption was also
accepted by László Simon (1991).
480 Csanád Bálint (1993, 269–270, Fundliste 8) used the lists of Éva Garam (1990, 253–272) and
Anatolij Konstantinovich Ambroz (1986b). He did not distinguish between suspension
loops of various types.
481 On the classification of P-shaped suspension loops: Garam 1990, 255; Garam 1991a; Garam
1991b, 222, 3. kép, 5. kép 2).
482 This classification is basicalle equivalent with that of Éva Garam (1990, 255, Abb. 7) and
her D, P and R types.