Origins And Cultural Contacts 329
cast of copper alloy to be the main attribute for Byzantine origin, indepen-
dently of the blade.169 In this he was later followed by Éva Garam.170
The original sword first identified as Byzantine was found in the cemetery of
the South Stoa at Corinth, from a cist burial with marble slabs oriented North-
South, and as well as the sword a pottery vessel, knife, iron buckle, Olympia
type copper alloy buckle and silver pendants were also included in the grave
which is dated to the end of the 6th–beginning of the 7th century.171 A good
analogy for the crossguard is known from the Pergamon excavations as a stray
find172 but similar crossguards cast of copper alloy are known from the Cypriot
site of Salamis.173
Two types of this crossguard are known from the Byzantine Empire, both of
them cast of copper alloy with rhombic central part, with the end of the first
type being rounded like that of the Corinth and Pergamon examples, while the
second type is characterised by angular ends like the Cypriote example and
second piece from Pergamon. The second type ends in a wedge-shape, and this
is the antecedent of the star-shaped crossguards of the Middle Avar period.174
The Corinth burial has been interpreted as that of a Slavic mercenary fighting
in the Byzantine army by Davidson-Weinberg.175
Four weapon burials are known from this cemetery at Corinth, their ori-
entation and architecture (cist graves) being similar to the Early Byzantine
burials, but the deposition of weapons is exceptional. A number of studies
have addressed this contradiction, with these burials being identified as Avars
conquering the city,176 whilst some held them to be Bulgarian177 or perhaps
Slavic warriors.178 More recent interpretations have identified the deceased
in these weapon burials as Slavic mercenaries in Byzantine service.179 Not
only the deposition of weapons are unusual in these graves, but the pottery
vessel (cooking pot) deposited in the grave similarly contradicts the normal
Byzantine burial custom, where exclusively jars or glass bottles were buried
169 Kiss 1996, 230.
170 Garam 1991a, 142–145; Garam 2001, 158–159.
171 Davidson-Weinberg 1974, 513–521.
172 Davidson-Weinberg 1974. 518. Taf. 112/f–g; the crossguard was found in the Eastern bath:
Gaitzsch 2005, 156. Taf. 40.
173 Chavane 1975, Pl. 14/116.
174 Garam 1991a, 159.
175 Davidson-Weinberg 1974.
176 Davidson 1937, 229–238; Vida – Völling 2000, 32–34. Abb. 11.
177 Setton 1950, 502–543; Setton 1952, 351–362.
178 Davidson-Weinberg 1974.
179 Ivison 1996, 117–119.