Plate-Ring Armors of Western Siberia and the Urals of the Epoch of the Great Migration of Peoples

The archaeological finds of iron armors from plates connected by rings are analyzed in the paper. These findings were made on the Obskie Plesy II necropolis in the Upper Ob-Side Region and Tarasovo Burial Ground in the Middle Kama Region. The problem of dating of plate-ring armors is indicated. Earlier it was believed that they appear in the era of the developed Middle Ages, but these findings are a thousand years older. A detailed description of the found armors is presented with a demonstration of the illustrative material. The origin of the horizontal plates and the circumstances of the appearance of the fixing rings are considered. The influence of both eastern and western traditions in their genesis is noted. The cut of armors in the form of a breastplate has been reconstructed. Conclusions are made about the local existence of early plate-ring armors in the III-IV centuries AD and their use by Samoyedic and Finno-Ugric horse warriors in the composition of double armour.