Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2015
The village of Jakuszowice (Kielce Voivodship, Kazimie za Wielka Commune) lies some 50 km northeast of Cracow on a loess upland situated on the left bank of the river Nidzica, tributary of the Vistula. In 1911, during sand extraction, an extremely rich burial was discovered. It contained the bones of a young man and a horse as well as a long sword and several bronze, silver and gold objects (Åberg 1936; Lászlo 1951; Harmatta 1951; Werner 1956; Nosek 1959). The grave is dated to the first half of the 5th century AD, probably before 430 on the basis of artefacts made in the Soesdala-Untersiebenbrunn style. The grave goods show clear affinities with many other ‘chieftain's graves’ which occur in an area stretching from the western part of the Eurasian steppe to western Europe – most densely in the Carpathian Basin, where they are associated with the period of Hunnic domination (Werner 1956: 82–95, map 8). Most noteworthy in this context is the gold-foil covered model of a Central Asiatic reflex bow, considered by certain scholars to be a symbol of authority (Harmatta 1951; Lászlo 1951).