Belt Fitting with Runic Inscription

Location Karabalgasun

Dating 8th-9th cent.

Epoch Uyghur Empire

Material Bronze

Technique Cast

Type Excavation find

Description

The bronze belt fitting was found in Karabalgasun. What makes it particularly interesting is the runic inscription that can be recognized on the object. The inscription can be loosely translated as “belt of a Kitan man (soldier)”. The Khitan were a Mongolian tribe that maintained close relations with the Uyghur Empire and later founded their own empire.

3D Visualisation

3D Model: H. Rohland

Images: H. Rohland

Literature

Баттулга, Ц. and Эрдэнэбат, У. (2023) ‘Хар балгасаас илэрсэн хүрэл ялтас дээрх руни бичээс (=Runic inscriptions on bronze plate from Karabalgasun)’, Mongolian Journa ofl Anthropology, Archaeology and Ethnology, 12(1), pp. 108–110. Available at: https://doi.org/10.22353/mjaae.2023120111.