A Pendant of Copper Alloy Dated to the Eleventh Century Found in Staraya Russa

A pendant of copper alloy, dated to the eleventh century, has been found in Staraya Russa. One side shows a warrior with a spear and shield, presumably a Christian saint; the other, a head with snakes, reminiscent of Medusa. Such objects are known as zmeeviki ("serpent amulets"). Four similar pendants are known from the same area, but they belong to the period between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.

Sergey Toropov of Novgorod State University explains that the chief peculiarity of the zmeevik lies in its joining of images that, from the standpoint of strict dogma, are incompatible. The warrior on the new find he connects with Saint Theodore Stratelates, whom tradition names as the conqueror of an enormous serpent in his native parts of Asia Minor.

Whether the images on the reverse were conceived specifically as Medusa, a figure of Greek pagan mythology, remains unclear. According to the researcher, such a combination of incompatible images may have signified the victory of the forces of light over the forces of darkness.

The dating of the pendant to the eleventh century, Toropov says, also indicates that Christianity spread through this part of the north-west earlier than was previously believed.