The belt buckle with a movable tongue was forged from iron in the period from the 10th to the 12th century. The craftsman gave it a rectangular shape. This artifact is a chance find made in 2010 in the mountainous area of the city of Sayanogorsk. During the Middle Ages, on the territory of the Minusinsk Basin, the archaeological culture of the Yenisei Kyrgyz was formed. This culture was singled out by the Russian orientalist and archaeologist Leonid Romanovich Kyzlasov.
The currently known monuments of the Askiz culture, whose name comes from the toponym of the Askiz River, were localized in the regions of Southern Siberia. In the north, they were found in the Krasnoyarsk region, in the east — in the Kan River basin, in the south — throughout Tuva, in the southwest — in Altai. In the west, the monuments of the Askiz culture were encountered by scientists in the spurs of the Kuznetsk Alatau.
Most of the objects of this culture, ranging from tools to horse harness and personal jewelry, were made of high-quality iron. Metallurgical production was actively developing in the Middle Yenisei in the Middle Ages.
The equipment of the warhorse included a saddle, stirrups, bridle, bits, horseshoes and other elements. The harness set included girth and bridle buckles, cowbells, bridle rings, bridle straps connectors, cross plaques, pendants, strap tips and saddle appliques.
The dimensions of the frame of the fixed-plate buckle indicate that it connected the ends of the belt with a width of no more than 1.7 centimeters, therefore, the buckle could belong to a bridle or belt set. The bridle consisted of several straps, which were adjusted with the help of such objects. Buckles did not allow the bridle to slip over the ears and eyes of the horse.
The headband straps of the horse’s bridle (head piece, browband, throat lash, cheek pieces, noseband, bit) had a width of about 1.8 centimeters in medieval times and were short-lived. Most often, only the metal parts of the harness were preserved from them: rings, plaques and buckles. The initial location of these parts, and sometimes their identification itself, especially if they ended up on a funeral pyre in a pile with other objects, is difficult.
