Oleg M. Oleynikov 1*, Konstantin A. Rudenko 2**

1 Institute of Archeology RAS, Moscow, Russia
2 Kazan State Institute of Culture, Russia
E-mail: * Olejnikov1960@yandex.ru;
** murziha@mail.ru

Keywords: Veliky Novgorod, metal mirror, Chinese calendar amulets, the Sino-Turkic 12-year animal cycle,
cultural contacts.

In Veliky Novgorod in the layer of the second half of the 13th century, a small metal mirror was found which depicts the Sino-Turkic 12-year calendar cycle. The find has a clear archaeological context and represents a new type of eastern antiquities recorded in the territory of medieval Rus for the first time. The mirror composition corresponds to natural copper matte consisting of copper and iron sulphides. This indicates that it was manufactured immediately from the product of copper ore melting.

DOI: 10.31857/S086960630001655-9