Finds of Icons with an Image of St George in Present-day Latvia
The publication examines circular bronze pendant icons with an image of St George found in present day Latvia. Currently, there is information about 14 such finds from eight sites. Six are stray finds from burial sites, and three come from two hillforts. Further five icons have been discovered together with four burials in two different cemeteries. All of the pendants are one-sided and belong to the same variant. The finds from present day Latvia concentrate in two regions: the middle courses of the Daugava and the Gauja rivers, populated in the Late Iron age by people with a Latgallian material culture. A review of the chronology of the icons shows that they appeared in present day Latvia no earlier than the late XII century and remained in use up to the end of the XIV century. Particularly interesting are the details of the image of St George, showing elements characteristic of Western European warfare.