LORDS OF THE RINGS: SOME CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE CLASSIFICATION OF GOLD SCANDINAVIAN SNAKE RINGS FROM THE LATE ROMAN PERIOD AND ITS INTERPRETATIONAL IMPLICATIONS.

The article discusses the differentiation of Scandinavian gold ring ornaments with serpentine endings from the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. The results of the phylogenetic and CAPCA analysis were used here to re-examine the previous interpretation of political ties between the various regions of Scandinavia, within the "center-periphery" and gift-giving models. The special position of the power center in Zealand was also discussed. All the large ornaments of this type in the graves of the Zealand elites are characteristic of the western part of the Central Baltic zone. Therefore, a hypothesis was put forward that the Zealand elite belonged to the network of connections created by the elites from Gotland, Oland, and the eastern part of mainland Sweden. In this context, the subject of the causes of the crystallization of the Zealand power center was once again taken up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]