Pendants of St. Anthony cross with the crucifixion from Estonia--possible badges of a folk pilgrimage/Antoniuse risti kujulised krutsifiksiga ripatsid eestist--voimalikud rahvaliku palverannu margid.

Jonuks, Tonno ; Joosu, Lauri

Pendants from Aseri and Ojaveski and their find contexts

In 1950 a stone grave known as "Aseri kalme" (Aseri grave), was partly damaged in Virumaa, in north-east Estonia, while digging a trench for the Tallinn-Narva road (see Fig. 4). During the work human bones and bronze objects were found, including an oval brooch (RM A 5: 269) but also bronze chains, ornamental pins, rivets, etc. In the following year salvage excavations were organised at the site by Osvald Saadre (Saadre 1952). In the course of the excavations it was discovered that the stone grave had originally been founded at the buried edge of the klint. The inhumations, three of them preserved in situ, were buried together with shepherd's crook pins. Some of the burials had been damaged, therefore single pins or parts of them were found all over the grave. Even though the constructions of the grave were partly disturbed by later burials and the road trench it was still possible to follow some rows and cists made of stones. According to the find material the grave was erected during the 1st-2nd century AD and classifies as an early tarand-grave. Finds from the next period, the Roman Iron Age (50-450 AD), are generally well represented in Virumaa, but could not be found here, except for a single closed ring (RM A 5: 293).

The next period of grave use is marked by several finds from cremations. Bracelets with thick terminals, cross-headed pins, bronze chains, rivets, etc. were found from the site. This is the period of grave use most discussed in academic articles. Marika Magi-Lougas has dated the bracelets to the Pre-Viking Age (1995, 277), controversially Toomas Tamla placed the artefacts to the end of the 11th century-beginning of the 12th century (1991, 141 f.). Some bracelets have been in fire (e.g. RM A 5: 77, 80, 88) and some were deliberately broken (RM A 5: 71, 81, 86, 95). Two pins have also been deliberately broken, one into two (RM A 5: 76, 83) another into four pieces (RM A 5: 74, 75, 78, 79). The latter was in the same set together with two broken bracelets and other similarly treated objects. From the same period of use a skull was found together with a headgear made of bronze spirals and rings (RM A 5: 45). So it seems that at the beginning of the Late Iron Age cremation burials with grave goods that had been in fire and were deliberately broken, were brought to the stone-grave. Later some inhumations, of which a skull with the headgear is preserved, were added to the grave. Bones from cremation and inhumation burials were found all over the stone setting.

The third period of use belongs to the Early Modern Period. At least one inhumation of an adult has been preserved with a bronze spiral ring and a tin signet ring (RM A 5: 219) around its fingers. In addition, another signet ring (RM A 5: 176) was found. The shield of the latter continues seamlessly to the ring and according to the typology based on the south-Estonian rural cemeteries could be dated to the end of the 16th century-early 17th century (Valk 1991, 191).

So the stone-grave has been used for burying after its initial founding also in the Late Iron Age and Medieval-Early Modern period. Thus, the burials have been brought to the stone-grave, which had later perhaps turned into a heap of stones, during one and a half millennia.

The most unique find--a pendant with a T-shaped cross--has not been previously discussed in Estonian archaeology (Fig. 1). It is a rather small item, 2.6 cm in diameter and 2 mm thick, with a loop of 5 mm in diameter. The pendant is made with a double-sided mould and casting residues are not cut off. As a result, the form of the central cross remains vague and the whole item gives an unfinished impression. Similar pendants, which are not primped, are known--such as cross-pendants from the 12th-13th century inhumation cemeteries (see Kurisoo 2012, 216 for examples). Because the pendant lacks the final finishing touch, it seems that unpolished ornaments were suitable for using and for selling as well. Such small T-shaped cross pendants made of tin and lead alloy are known in large numbers and most often they are associated with sites from the Early Modern Ages. What makes it unique is the human figure on both sides of the central cross. It is a rather clumsy work, with a body depicted as a trapeze and lines covering it, possibly marking some sort of clothing. The hands of the figure are stretched out, fingers spread, and the head is depicted with the simple ring, with eyes and nose marked and hair shown by short lines. At first glance the figure seems to wave but we can assume that the master has tried to depict the crucified Christ. Similar figure, with some minor differences, is depicted on the other side of the cross but here the depiction is more obscure.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Unfortunately nothing is recorded in the excavation report about the find context of the pendant. According to the excavation plan the pendant was found from the eastern side of the grave which had previously been extensively damaged by digging the road trench. Thus, it is no longer possible to reconstruct the original deposition context and it remains debatable whether it was a gravegood associated with some late burials or a stray find either lost or deliberately deposited to the old stone-grave.

No analogues to the pendant were known until a hobby archaeologist Raul Olde discovered an identical pendant with the Crucifixion on both sides when using a metal detector in a field of Ojaveski village in Virumaa in 2011 (Fig. 2). According to Olde, the rest of the finds from the field belonged to the 17th-19th century. In the next field to the pendant find an occupation layer of a settlement site could be detected. The pendant from Ojaveski measures similar to the find from Aseri grave, only the former was 1.5 mm thick. Though the distance between the two find places is 40 km (as the crow flies), both items have definitely been cast in the same mould and probably by the same master as well. In addition to the measurements and the figures on both sides, also details and defects of the mould match exactly. The pendant from Ojaveski was originally covered with the layer of tin oxide and at the first sight the figure on the pendant could not be recognised. Olde cleaned the item by sousing it in flax oil and mechanically scraping off the oxide. The pendant looks much better than the piece from Aseri and the figure is much clearer. This is also the reason why the pendant from Ojaveski is thinner than the one from Aseri, as oxide is preserved on the latter.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Chemical composition

To evaluate if these pendants were made by the same craftsman during one alloy melting process the chemical composition of the items was analysed. Measurements were conducted at the University of Tartu, Department of Geology using scanning electron microscope (SEM) Zeiss Evo 15MA equipped with energy dispersive detector. Measurements were conducted without prior calibration by external standards. The final data processing was done using Aztec software.

Three areas were randomly chosen from each pendant and analysed for chemical composition using maximum measurement area (ca. 20 [mm.sup.2]). Average values of these results were used to evaluate the chemical composition of the pendants. Both pendants were made of lead and tin alloy (Table 1). Lead was added to tin presumably to increase the pendant's durability (Hull 2005). Tin and lead ratio of the pendant from Aseri was respectively ca. 2 : 1, although the ratio for the specimen from Ojaveski was ca. 1 : 1, which allows us to suggest that these pendants were manufactured separately (Fig. 3). It is interesting to note that the amount of tin and lead corresponds well to badges found from medieval London, where the alloy of most samples consisted 60-65% of tin and 40-35% of lead (Spencer 2010, 10 f. and references therein).

In addition to tin and lead, the results reveal a great number of additional compounds within the alloy (Table 1). The reason for this is probably insufficient cleaning of specimens that did not remove all the oxides and other impurities from the surface. This strongly influences the results because the used method detects signal from a few to a few dozen of pm thick surface layer. In-depth cleaning was not possible as it would have damaged pendants.

Several Pb and Sn oxidation products formed on the surfaces of archaeological artefacts (e.g. Pb[O.sub.2], PbC[O.sub.3], PbS[O.sub.4], [Pb.sub.2]C[O.sub.3][Cl.sub.2], SnO, SnS[O.sub.4], Sn[Cl.sub.2], SnS) have been described (Ryck et al. 2004; Garcia-Heras et al. 2006). We propose that the high concentration of carbon and oxygen are due to lead and tin corrosion products as Pb/Sn oxides and carbonates. However carbon concentration is higher than can be explained by Pb and Sn carbonate formation. Therefore probably some C and minor elements (e.g. Ca, Fe, Si) are dust and soil particles from the environment that have been bonded by corrosion layer (Ryck et al. 2004) or impurities from alloy preparation. S and Cl might be considered exceptional since these could be compounds of Pb/Sn corrosion products and thereby their different concentration indicates different corrosion conditions.

Craftsmen and analogous pendants

Jewellery cast in one and the same mould is not very common in Estonian archaeological material. Even more--most of the examples, which were crafted in the same mould, have been discovered together. For instance, the cross pendants from the Savastvere hoard were made using the same form (Leimus 2009, 8). The pendants of Aseri and Ojaveski were unearthed 40 kilometres apart and from completely different find contexts. The one from Aseri was excavated from a prehistoric stone-grave and was deposited as a grave good or lost as a stray find. The example of Ojaveski, on the other hand, was collected from a settlement site and was lost or deliberately deposited either in or in the vicinity of a past village (Fig. 4).

But even more important than the same mould the human figures depicted on both sides of the pendant should be considered. The Crucified Christ on the pendant is indicating a more specific meaning than ordinary cross-pendants. It is highly unlikely that Christ was carved on pendants only on aesthetic purposes.

Human figurines are not common among Estonian finds. (1) Some of them are known from the Late Iron Age, depicting horsemen or ultimately stylised human-shaped pendants (Jonuks 2009, 294 f.). Jewellery from the medieval and Modern Ages, mostly works of urban craftsmen, are more frequently decorated with human figures (Kirme 2000; 2002; Reidla 2012, 75 ff.). Among popular handicraft one can probably find humans most often on the shield of signet rings from the 16th-17th century (Valk 1991, 190). Among them several different positions and characters can be distinguished, including depictions of the Crucifixion. The previous history of research of Estonian Medieval and Modern Age jewellery has focused on urban masters and thus rural craftsmen and their works have been underestimated.

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

Possibly the urban Our Father pendants from the 16th century (Kirme 2002, 74) gave inspiration to depict Crucified Christ on such small tin-lead pendants. Christ in the similar position has also been depicted on some other analogous T-shaped pendants. A tin pendant of the same type was found from the medieval cemetery of Rajara, Piilsi village (Fig. 5). Together with the pendant glass beads, cowry-shells, a pennannular brooch and a 16th century coin were found. This pendant has also a T-shaped cross, surrounded by a ring and on the one side of the cross crucified Christ with stretched-out arms is depicted. The figure is simpler and more stylised, than examples from Aseri and Ojaveski. A similar pendant, currently preserved in a private collection, has been published by Kaalu Kirme (2002, fig. 48) with the only exception that the figure on the photo seems to be more relief. Considering the differences between Aseri and Ojaveski pendants, the reason for that could be that the pendant in the private collection has been cleaned of tin oxide as well. The pendant from Piilsi and the item from the private collection have not been cast in the same mould, although possibly by the same master. Many details refer to this: e.g. the hands end with rings, the head is depicted with a relief sphere and a line borders the cross. Diversely, the cross on the piece preserved in the private collection is wider and legs on the pendant from Piilsi are separated but together in the other example. Still, the general image of the figures is so alike that rather indicates at the same master or at least to the direct copy.

A rather similar, very stylised and worn pendant (Fig. 6) is known from the debris layer of a house from the late 16th-early 17th century Tallinn (Toos et al. 2002). The house was built at the territory of the medieval St. John the Baptist's Hospital or Alms-house after its destruction in 1570 during the Livonian War. According to the finds the building was burnt down during the first half of the 17th century and the pendant was found from the filling layer. Unfortunately the finding circumstances do not allow dating the pendant any more precisely, although it is certainly older than 17th-18th century (Jaak Mall, pers. conversation 20.08.2013). The pendant is even more comparable to the Aseri and Ojaveski pendants because of its clumsiness as hands of the figure of this example end with three graceless fingers.

While four among the above discussed pendants could be associated with a definite master, many more craftsmen from medieval and Early Modern ages have been discerned on stylistic basis in Estonia (see Kirme 2000, 35 ff.). Not all of them were foreign masters but some had local origin. Looking at the clumsiness of all studied examples of this paper, none of the craftsmen had got proper education for jewellery-making. The most probable possibility in this case is that the master is a 16th--17th century ettekenmaker or local jeweller, who had specific skills and some tools for tin-working but who was not a professional goldsmith. He earned his living most likely by making tools, etc., but in addition also some simpler jewellery to be sold on markets. The latter seems to be one of the possible interpretations to explain why pendants were found in such a distance from each other. The making of pendants for markets was possibly practiced for a longer time, which also explains different alloys.

The location of the master (and the market) is very speculative as we know rather little about the inner trade of medieval Estonia. As three pendants come from Virumaa, this area should perhaps be a priority. Considering that Rakvere was the only town in the 16th-17th century Virumaa, the market where some of the pendants were sold could have taken place there. In addition, a goldsmith is mentioned from the 16th-century Rakvere (Russow 1988, chapter 65). In the late 17th century three smiths and two goldsmiths have been recorded in Rakvere as well (Kirss 2005, 46). These masters possibly made jewellery for local rural population also, and thus it could be plausible to find their works in rural contexts. But even though the jeweller in Rakvere could have made tin pendants, his skills of carving the mould must have been much more elaborate than is the case here. Kaalu Kirme has also pointed out that the design of tin pendants in general is closer to works of local ettekenmakers than the urban jewellers (Kirme 2002, 52). In addition to Rakvere there is also another centre where such pendants could have been made--the biggest hamlet of the area, Viru-Nigula. In this interpretation, it is important to notice that from the 13th century inhumation cemetery in Pada, which lies in the same settlement unit, four locally made tin pendants have been discovered (Kurisoo 2012, 216). This means that the traditions of casting tin objects were long in the surrounding area.

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

St. Anthony and the T-shaped cross

Another question is, who is depicted on the cross and why such exceptional pendants were made at all? The form of the pendant derives from the tradition of urban Our Father pendants. To the T-shaped, St. Anthony's or tau-cross diverse meanings have been ascribed to in different times and it has been used in very diverse contexts in Christian iconography. In medieval times it became the symbol of salvation what Aron used to mark houses of Israelites on the night before the Exodus of Egypt (Husband 1992, 22). The T-shaped cross is also used as the execution cross for the two thieves beside Christ, as well as in several other contexts. During the medieval times the cross was more closely associated with the Egyptian saint St. Anthony (ibid.). Anthony, who was brought up in a 3rd-4th century wealthy Egyptian family, went to the desert, became an eremite, and died in 356. Already during his lifetime he was actively healing and the Order of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony was named after him in 1095. The most famous activity of the order was the healing of St. Anthony's fire. Different skin diseases were labelled with it, with the most important symptom being red exanthema, but in Europe the term was generally marked as ergotism. The most popular healing method of the condition was to butter the skin with pork fat which soothed the itching and the redness of the skin and thus the order was allowed to grow as many pigs as necessary without paying taxes (Husband 1992, 25). Apparently this is the source why St. Anthony is associated with pigs and why he became the protective saint of pigs and swineherds in popular religion. Considering that grain growing and trading was the most important article of merchandise in medieval Estonia then ergotism that spread together with rye did occur and thus the need for miracles by the saint existed.

Without doubt St. Anthony was the most popular saint in medieval Estonia. In the folk calendar St. Anthony had a special day (17 January) and many personal names derive from Anthony. In some areas, West Estonia in particular, a special basket, called Tonni vakk, was used for collecting sacrifices during the 19th century. According to Lauri Vahtre (1991, 84) there are many rural chapels but no parish churches dedicated to St. Anthony. The latter shows different attitudes that the official clergy and rural people had towards religion. It is also known that worshipping of St. Anthony among the rural population was exceeding the control of church authorities and thus in 1428 the arbitrary founding of chapels by local peasants dedicated to St. Anthony was prohibited, as well as using of his pictures for worship (Kala 2006, 23). But such an edict can also reflect the more general history of the Order of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony in the 15th century. After the flourishing and popularity in the 14th century a crisis hit the order in 1418, and the downfall started (Sarnowsky 2004, 166). Possibly the deprecation of the activity of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony was part of this process.

Although, there is no doubt in the popularity St. Anthony enjoyed in the medieval and Early Modern Estonia we cannot associate the figures on the St. Anthony's cross with the saint exclusively. Considering the wider iconography it is still more likely that the crucified Christ is represented there and the form of the cross used popular shape and added new nuances to the entire pendant.

The meaning of pendants--salient adornments or souvenirs of religious events

As we saw above humans are rare on the decoration of Estonian medieval-Early Modern Age peasantry ornaments. Among those example depictions of Crucifixion dominate over all others, and this suggests that it is justified to look for some deeper and religious meaning behind those pendants. For the pure aesthetical ornament one can find many examples among Late Medieval hoards for striking jewellery, such as large silver pendants carrying different motives, mostly geometrical expansions of cross. So we can probably safely leave aside the interpretation that the pendants with Crucifixion are ordinary but more decorated cross pendants.

Three, maybe four cross pendants with the Crucified Christ that can be localised originate from Virumaa. The pendant from Ojaveski was found from the settlement site. The Aseri example was discovered from an earlier stone-grave and the one from Piilsi comes from Medieval-Early Modern Age village cemetery. As we can suppose one and the same master behind the latter and the example in private collection (see above), it could be assumed, that also this one was possibly found somewhere from Virumaa. According to those it seems justified to look the origin of pendants also somewhere in Virumaa. Of the two possibilities presented above, according to which the master of the pendants practised either in Rakvere or ViruNigula, the latter seems to be more plausible and on that case pendants are probably connected with the (folksy) Catholic pilgrimage destination--the chapel of St. Mary, or the ruins of it (Fig. 7).

St. Mary's chapel in Viru-Nigula is one of the few pilgrimage destinations of medieval Estonia (Vunk 2005). Among the latter mostly churches are listed, however, Risti chapel from Viljandi county and the St. Mary's chapel in Viru-Nigula stand out as places for folksy pilgrimages. Beside the tradition of long-distance pilgrimages in medieval Christian culture shorter and more local pilgrimages started to spread since the 14th century, which also evoked popular pilgrimages (Vunk 2005, 221). Even though clerical shrines for pilgrimages were missing (ibid., 224) the purpose and the way how pilgrimages were conducted did resemble a proper pilgrimage (cf. also Jonuks 2012, 174). Such folk pilgrimages were conducted also to other places besides the clerical sites. According to the 17th century description, people gathered together from far and distant places to Uduallikas (Foggy Spring) in Viljandi county, they offered to St. Birgitta, a local female priest was active "bei ihrem Gottensdienst" and coins with cross sign were offered to the spring (Busch 1937, 65 f.). In 1836 many coins were found from the spring with Russian coins on the top, Swedish ones in the middle and coins minted in Tallinn and Riga by the Teutonic Order at the bottom (Kreutzwald & Neus 1975, 107). The general gathering on certain clerical dates, the activity of a local priest and offering to the spring point to the folk tradition of pilgrimages (Vunk 2005, 223) or rather to the local, popular interpretation of pilgrimages. At such events magic, especially healing and fertility magic, was as important as the honouring of Christian saints (ibid., 350). Nifty examples could be found for the Risti chapel in Viljandi county and St. Mary's chapel in Viru-Nigula. A description from 1666 by Michael Scholbach, the Lutheran priest of Viru-Nigula at that time, is known about the latter. According to the text, people from large territory gathered together around the ruins of the chapel at the Assumption Day of Mary (July 2nd). They offered bread and coins, which were also shared with local beggars, but according to the description also children (figurines of them) and children shirts were sacrificed. Wax figurines were made in order to obtain fertility for childbirth (Winkler 1900, 19). Such a popular interpretation of Catholic tradition continued long after the Reformation and descriptions about the healing magic where sufferers crawled on their knees around the chapel ruins and offered bread and coins to the altar of St. Mary chapel are recorded in 1635 (Olearius 1996, 122), 1667 and as late as from 1715 (Winkler 1900, 19 f.). Similar descriptions of gatherings and feastings, offerings of bread and coins and making of wax figurines are known also for other places, including large clerical pilgrimage destinations like Pirita monastery from the Day of St. Vitus (June 15th) (Russow 1998, chapter 49).

[FIGURE 7 OMITTED]

As a confirmation of the visit to the pilgrimage destination and as a reminder of the pilgrimage special badges were sold--souvenirs where the iconography was specifically connected with the destination of the pilgrimage (Andersson 1989; Vunk 2005; Brumme 2010, 34). Since the 14th century also local pilgrimage sites emerged, beside the major ones; their badges were more universal and cannot easily be identified with certain places. That is the reason why the origin of most of the pilgrimage badges from the late medieval times (since 1400) is unknown. Based on this Lars Andersson has suggested (1989) that although Great Pilgrimages dominate in research tradition, the local ones were more important to the majority of the population. Many of the pilgrim badges from these destinations are simple, depicting only a cross or a T-cross, sometimes encircled with a ring (see Beuningen 1993, 125; Koldeweij 2006, 197; Spencer 2010, 177; Rebkowski 2013), similar to the above described examples from Estonia. It is not justified to treat all T-shaped pendants as pilgrim badges but the Crucifixion on some of the crosses indicates their special meaning. Possibly the locally produced Our Father pendants from Aseri, Ojaveski, Piilsi, Tallinn and other place should be interpreted as the material representation of folk pilgrimages from the 16th-17th centuries. A clear difference between the official badges and popular ones is that the first were attached to the clothing and usually only one side was decorated. The latter ones resembled pendants and fitted better the general tradition of using jewellery. Thus, although we should not call such local pendants with the Crucifixion as proper pilgrimage badges they were probably local interpretations of them. The folk religion is often based on the official religion and is a popular interpretation of it. As pilgrimages were popular and widely appreciated in the medieval society, this was an attractive phenomenon also for rural culture and on the ritual level was associated with healing and fertility magic.

It is distinctive that either small bells or other pendants are attached especially to the badges of the form of T-crosses (see e.g. Spencer 2010, 177; Beuningen 1993, 125; Reidla 2012, 76). Still, neither bells nor other pendants can be associated with any of pendants described above.

In this respect the dating of pendants becomes an important issue. In Western Europe similar badges have been dated to the 14th-early 16th century (Beuningen 1993, 125; Koldeweij 2006, 197). Unfortunately the find contexts of Estonian pendants do not offer much ground for dating. Only the pendant from the grave of Aseri, which also contained burials from the 16th-17th centuries, points to this period. The finding context of other pendants rather supports this dating. Considering the period it is important to remember that the superstitious customs described about St. Mary's chapel from Viru-Nigula were recorded by Michael Scholbach in 1666 but also during the following century (see also above). Similar rituals have been recorded from the Risti chapel from the 1770s (Hupel 1774, 155 ff.). Bearing in mind these descriptions we can state that pendants derive most possibly from the 17th century, when the official Reformation was already received but the desolation by the Livonian War instigated the emergence of some unofficial religious practices. Possibly in this context the ruins of a former pilgrimage-site preserved their importance and housed rituals of healing and fertility. Considering the form of the pendant we can speculate that St. Anthony and the power of healing and fertility could play a significant role in these rituals (cf. also Spencer 2010, 177). And Our Father pendants decorated with the Crucifixion, made by some local ettekanmaker (comp. also Kafka 2006) were not just elaborated ornaments sold at markets but may have served as souvenirs to mark the visit of the holy places and were scattered by travellers.

Here the topography of pendants should be considered again. Considering St. Mary's chapel as a pilgrimage destination three out of five find places of the discussed pendants remain in the distance of about one or two days trip. The pendant found from the settlement site of Ojaveski does not say much about its deposition situation. It could be considered as having been lost, old pilgrim badges have also been reused as scrap metal or deliberately deposited (see Andersson 1989; Brumme 2010). As magical power was often ascribed to badges the burial or deposition in some other ways could be considered as a magical act (Blick 2010, 523). Beside that the Aseri and Piilsi examples found from inhumation graves are more interesting. Many of the medieval pilgrim badges were buried together with their owner (Andersson 1989, 194; Webb 2001, 128; Brumme 2010, 41). In Europe the change took place during the late pilgrimages and since the 15th century most of pilgrim badges from Scandinavia have been found as votive deposits from rural areas, especially from churches (Andersson 1989, 194). When studying the background of the pendants from Aseri and Piilsi both interpretations are possible as we do not know the exact finding context. The pendant from the pilgrimage site, considering the descriptions of rituals, was possibly loaded with magical meanings and was thus also applicable for offering and could thus end up in a stone-grave or cemetery. Still, studying the definite burials from the late 16th-early 17th century from Aseri grave it is even more likely that the pendant is a grave good. It is interesting that in that case the deceased was buried into the centuries old stone-graves, where it was not allowed to bury any more in the Early Modern Age. There could be several interpretations for this but considering the wider background the most plausible suggestion seems that people who were still following popular Catholic customs and were still having the tradition of gathering at old pilgrim sites belonged already to another religion, were seen as pagans by Lutheran priests and thus not suitable for the consecrated land in the Lutheran world. It is known from many historical sources that for Lutheran priests from the 17th century there was no difference if a person was following pre-Christian traditions or continued with Catholic practices. They were all pagans and thus to be disapproved.

This amorphous collection of a few preserved phenomena from the Late Iron Age and the rich selection of Catholic traditions mixed with local interpretations of them formed the core of Estonian folk religion. During the Lutheran battle against sorcery and idolatry during the 17th century the folk religion, although using Christian elements and symbolism, became the main target. As did people in northern Estonia, who still venerated Catholic saints, gathered together for their honour and asked for health and prosperity. They gathered at churches, chapels or natural shrines, which were either intact or destroyed in numerous conflicts during the late 16th-early 17th centuries. As the noble culture of past Catholicism, together with the tradition of pilgrimage, was decisive then religious gatherings acquired a folk image of pilgrimage. As a token of the participation local craftsmen made and sold small souvenirs and considering the magical background of those gatherings it is only natural to assume that these badges were supposed to have some magical meanings. Scattered around by folk pilgrims the badges travelled far and were finally deposited in graves or villages, all in unique contexts.

Acknowledgements

The authors of the present paper are grateful to Raul Olde for sharing his find and Meelis Sare for consulting the manufacturing of those pendants. Anonymous reviewers and Dr. Erki Russow (University of Tallinn) provided valuable comments and helped to find analogies. PhD student Martti Veldi helped with the general discussion and corrected the language. Keijo Raamat prepared the drawings. The paper is supported by the ETF grant No. 8956 "The Materiality of Religion--religious artefacts from Estonian archaeology collections" and target-financed program SF0180069s08 "Tectono-thermal development of the Baltic Paleobasin: linking physical and chemical processes".

References

Andersson, L. 1989. Pilgrimsmarken och vallfart. Medeltida pilgrimskultur i Skandinavien. (Lund Studies in Medieval Archaeology, 7.) Almqvist & Wiksell International, Lund.

Beuningen, H. J. E. 1993. Helig en profaan: 1000 Laatmiddeleeuwse insigne suit de collective H. J. E. van Beuningen. (Rotterdam papers, VIII.) Cotheln, Netherland.

Blick, S. 2010. Pilgrim accessories. - Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage. Eds L. J. Taylor, L. A. Craig, J. B. Friedman, K. Gower, T. Izbicki & R. Tekippe. Brill, Leiden, Boston, 519-524.

Brumme, C. 2010. Das spatmittelalterliche Wallfahrtswesen im Erzstift Magdeburg, im Furstentum Anhalt und im sachsischen Kurkreis. Entwicklung, Strukturen und Erscheinungsformen frommer Mobilitat in Mitteldeutschland vom 13. bis zum 16. Jahrhundert. (Europaische Wallfahrtstudien, Band 6.) Peter Lang Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main.

Busch, N. 1937. Studien zur baltischen Vorgeschichte, I. Abhandlung der Herder-Gesellschaft und des Herder-Instituts zu Riga, Riga.

Garcia-Heras, M., Villegas, M. A., Caen, J. M. A., Domingo, C. & Garcia-Ramos, J. V. 2006. Patination of historical stained windows lead cames from different European locations.--Microchemical Journal, 83, 81-90.

Hull, C. 2005. Pewter. Shire Publications, Bucks.

Hupel, A. W. 1774. Topographische Nachrichten von Lief-und Ehstland. Bund I. Gesammelt und herausgegeben durch August Wilhelm Hupel. Riga.

Husband, T. B. 1992. The Winteringham tau cross and Ignis Sacer.--Metropolitan Museum Journal, 27, 19-35.

Jonuks, T. 2009. Eesti muinasusund. (Dissertationes archaeologiae Universitatis Tartuensis, 2.) Tartu University Print.

Jonuks, T. 2012. From holy hiis to sacred stone: diverse and dynamic meanings of Estonian holy sites.--Archaeology of Spiritualities. Eds K. Rountree, C. Morris & A. Peatfield. Springer, New York, 163-183.

Kafka, L. 2006. Image and figuration of pilgrimage models in folk fine art in the Czech lands (on the example of folk painting on glass and woodcut).--Wallfahrten in der europaischer Kultur. Eds D. Dole[]al & H. Kuhne. Peter Lang Europaischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main, 635-653.

Kala, T. 2006. Ristimine paganate ja kristlaste pilgu labi.--Tuna, 3, 8-26.

Kirme, K 2000. Eesti hobe. 800 aastat hobe-ja kullassepakunsti Eestis. Kunst, Tallinn.

Kirme, K. 2002. Eesti rahvaparased ehted. 13. sajand-20. sajandi algus. Eesti Entsuklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn.

Kirss, O. 2005. Rakvere ajalugu koige vanemast ajast kuni 1944. aastani. Virumaa Muuseumid, Rakvere.

Koldeweij, A. M. 2006. Geloof & Geluk: sieraad en devotie in middeleeuws Vlaanderen. Terra, Arnhem.

Kreutzwald, F. & Neus, H. 1975. Mythische und magische Lieder der Ehsten. St Petersburg 1854. Buchdrukerei der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nachdruck 1975. Verlag Harro v. Hirschheydt, Hannover, Dohren.

Kurisoo, T. 2012. Ristripatsid Eesti 12.-13. sajandi laibakalmistutes: kas ehted voi usu tunnused? (Opetatud Eesti Seltsi aastaraamat 2011.) Tartu, 213-234.

Leimus, I 2009. Laanemere kristlikud paganad.--Tuna, 4, 5-22.

Magi-Lougas, M. 1995. Eesti viikingiaegsed kaevorud ja nende ornament.--Eesti arheoloogia historiograafilisi, teoreetilisi ja kultuuriajaloolisi aspekte. Ed. V. Lang. (MT, 3.) Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus, Tallinn, 271-325.

Olearius, A. 1996. Taiendatud uus reisikiri Moskoovia ja Parsia teekonna kohta. Olion, Tallinn.

Rebkowski, M. 2013. The finds of the pilgrim badges from the Polish Baltic coast.--Wallfahrer aus dem Osten Mittelalterliche Pilgerzeichen zwischen Ostsee, Donau und Seine. Eds H. Kuhne, L. Lambacher & J. Hrdina. (Europaische Wallfahrsstudien, Band 10.) PL Academic Research, Frankfurt am Main, 33-49.

Reidla, J. 2012. Eesti ehtekultuur muinasajast uusajani. Schenkenberg, Tallinn.

Russow, B. 1988. The Chronicle of Balthasar Russow. A Forthright Rebuttal. Baltic Studies Center, Madison.

Ryck, I., Biezen, E., Leyssens, K., Adriaens, A., Storme, P. & Adams, F. 2004. Study of tin corrosion: the influence of alloying elements.--Journal of Cultural Heritage, 5, 189-195.

Saadre, O. 1952. Kaevamisaruanne 23.7.1951.-1.8.1951. a. teostatud kaevamistest Kivoli rajooni kolhoos "Punane Taht" (Aseri kulanoukogu) maa-alal oleval kivikalmel "Aseri kalm". Manuscript at the archive of the National Heritage Board.

Sarnowsky, J. 2004. Hospidaliordud.--Kristlike ordude kultuurilugu. Eds P. Dinzelbacher & J. L. Hogg. Johannes Esto Uhing, Tartu, 165-173.

Spencer, B. 2010. Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges. (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London, 7.) Boydell Press, Suffolk.

Tamla, T. 1991. Jamenevate otstega kaevorud Eesti noorema rauaaja (10.-13. sajandi) leidudes.--Arheoloogiline kogumik. Eds L. Jaanits & V. Lang. (MT, 1.) Agu, Tallinn, 134-145.

Toos, G., Mall, J., Kadakas, V. & Vaheoja, I 2002. Arheoloogilised uuringud Tartu mnt. labimurde loigul Kivisilla tanavast Tornimae tanavani. Manuscript at the archive of National Heritage Board.

Vahtre, L. 1991. Eestlase aeg. Uurimus eesti rahvaparase ajaarvamise ajaloost. ETA Ajaloo Instituut, Tallinn.

Valk, H. 1991. Louna-Eesti sormused 13.-17. sajandil.--Arheoloogiline kogumik. Eds L. Jaanits & V. Lang. (MT, 1.) Agu, Tallinn, 182-199.

Vunk, A. 2005. Jeesus laks maal kondimaie. Ristisojad ja palverannakud Eesti keskajal. Argo, Tallinn.

Webb, D. 2001. Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Medieval West. I. B. Tauris Publishers, London, New York.

Winkler, R. 1900. Ueber Kirchen und Kapellen Ehstlands in Geschichte und Sage.--Beitrage zur Kunde Ehst-, Liv- und Kurlands. 5. Band. Verlag von Franz Kluge, Reval, 1-20.

(1) As the richest find place for human-shaped pendants Tamula I settlement-cemetery should be mentioned. From Tamula 11 bone pendants are known of the shape of a human or a human head. But this hunter-gatherer site represents a different tradition than the examples discussed here.

Tonno Jonuks, Estonian Literary Museum, 42 Vanemuise St., Tartu, Estonia; tonno@folklore.ee Lauri Joosu, Department of Geology, University of Tartu, 14A Ravila St., Tartu, Estonia; lauri.joosu@ut.ee

Table 1. Chemical composition of pendants in three analysed
areas and the calculated average
value. Values are given in weight percentages

Name        Aseri
Measured    1          2      3      Average
area                                 value

Sn          27.4       26     21.3   24.9
Pb          14.3       15     10     13.1
O           27.3       26.6   31.5   28.5
C           25.7       24.4   24.6   24.9
Ca          1.5        2.8    6.8    3.7
Si          1.2        1.3    1.7    1.4
Fe          0.7        0.7    0.8    0.7
S           0.5        0.5    0.6    0.5
K           0.4        0.4    0.5    0.4
Al          0.4        0.5    0.7    0.5
P           0.3        0.4    0.3    0.3
Mg          0.2        0.2    0.2    0.2
Na          0.1        0.3    0.2    0.2
Cu          0          0.6    0.8    0.5
Cl          0          0.3    0      0.1

Name        Ojaveski
Measured    1          2      3      Average
area                                 value

Sn          30.4       29.9   24.2   28.2
Pb          23.1       22.8   27.5   24.5
O           19.8       20     22.2   20.7
C           18.1       18.5   15.8   17.5
Ca          1.8        1.7    2.1    1.9
Si          2.2        2.4    2.9    2.5
Fe          0.5        0.5    0.6    0.5
S           0          0      0      0.0
K           0.4        0.4    0.4    0.4
Al          0.7        0.6    0.8    0.7
P           2.2        2.2    2.7    2.4
Mg          0.2        0.1    0.1    0.1
Na          0          0      0      0.0
Cu          0          0.2    0      0.1
Cl          0.7        0.6    0.8    0.7

Fig. 3. The average chemical composition of studied pendants.
A from Aseri and B from Ojaveski.
Values are given in weight percentages. Diagram by Lauri Joosu.

                  A          B

Sn               25%        28%

Pb               13%        24%

O                28%        21%

C                25%        17%

Ca                4%         2%

Si                1%         3%

minor             4%         5%
elements

Note: Table made from pie chart.