Analysis of rings made of non-ferrous metals and metal ornaments of the village of Vezha

Abstract

When studying jewelry craft, technological observations become a full-fledged source. In recent decades, work has intensified on the study of the chemical composition of jewelry made from non-ferrous metal alloys. The study of the jewelry series alone makes it possible to identify a possible connection between the technique of making rings and the composition of the alloy. In addition, we raise a question and try to answer on the basis of the materials available at the moment: could the village of Vezha have organized its own metallurgical or jewelry business for the manufacture of rings. The time of existence of the village of Vezhi – taking into account the materials of the last years of the study, it is unlikely earlier than the XII century to the XX century inclusive. The settlement was most likely founded by the Novgorod population in the Meryan lands as a result of the colonization policy of Novgorod the Great in the southern direction, and here, in the area of the confluence of the Kostroma River with the Volga River, it probably stops when faced with a similar process of development of Finno-Ugric territories by the population of Rostov-Suzdal lands. In the Golden Horde and post-Golden Horde times, migration movements related to the internal (rural) and ecclesiastical colonization of the region took place here; and the active involvement of the Kostya land in the political and economic life of the young Moscow state. The appearance and existence of jewelry found in the village, most likely, in one way or another, is connected with these processes.