Historical Context

Abstract

The closest parallel to Velestino is the Biskupija hoard. A number of cemeteries discovered along the Cetina River point to a broader archaeological and historical context for the finds of bronze models from Croatia. This was a micro-region of the western Balkans that was well connected with the outside world, particularly with the technologies and decorative styles in fashion in contemporary Byzantium. Someone in that region was powerful enough to have at his disposal craftsmen capable of casting mounts for belts and appliqués for shields or furniture. Someone of that social stature is actually known from the region of Thessaly where the Velestino hoard was found. An early eighth-century seal of an archon of the Belegezites named Tichomiros, points to an imperial spatharios, an imperial client, and most likely a Christian. He may well have been the person who commissioned one or more metalworkers to cast appliqués using the models from the Velestino hoard.