WEAPONS AND ACCOUTREMENTS OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 14th - EARLY 15th CENTURIES FROM THE PRINCIPALITY OF YELETS

The finds made during recent excavations near the town of Yelets provide an opportunity to characterize military activities of the Principality of Yelets. Wide spread of weapons at the sites in the lower reaches of the Bystraya Sosna river dating to the second half of the 14th - 15th centuries is correlated with appearance of the Principality of Yelets which was politically and genealogically linked to the Principality of Kozelsk. Retrieved weapons and accoutrements belonging to professional warriors (spurs, a body armor, a coat of mail, bridle bits, armor piercing arrowheads, etc.) mark the routes of the 'armored hosts' running from the Upper Oka Principalities to the east as far as the Upper Don River. The accoutrements were clearly made in Turkic traditions.