The hat was discovered in 1877 by archaeologist Samokvasov in the same barrow as the shirt mentioned in the previous article. The hat is described by G. Stelmaschuk in the “Traditional Headdresses of the Ukrainians” published in 1993. The hat is made of a silk cloth and inwrought with gold. On its front part, two stripes were decorated with ornamented plates.
On top of the headdress, an ivory “widget” was most likely used to insert some additional decorations.
The scholars noted that the similar looking stripes were present on the headdress of a price of the Parthian Empire Meherdates who lived in the 1st c. A.D.
G. Stelmaschuk observed also that Byzantine emperor Basyl I of Macedon (811-886) wore a similar-looking hat. Some scholars are confident that Basil I was of a Slavic decent and “Gardariki, UKraine” e-book has references on that account.
It is impossible to guess who of Kyiv rulers was buried in the Rosava barrow. It could be Oleg or some other ruler before him. But the royal hat found in the Rosava barrow indicates that he was a ruler of some ancient dynasty. The fact that he was buried in a barrow indicates that the dynasty probably traced its royal origin to the Scythian times. Ornamentation on the hat points in that direction as well.
Gold decorations on the royal hat
More about textile from the same barrow >
