Volume 100, Issue 3

Zusammenfassung In der zweiten Hälfte des 6. Jahrtausends v. Chr. wanderten die ersten mit der Bandkeramik verbundenen Bauern aus und ihre Kultur verbreitete sich in die Gebiete nördlich der Karpaten. Bisher hatte man angenommen, dass diese frühneolithische Ausbreitung in einen Zeitraum um ca. 5500–5400 v. Chr. fällt, was sich vor allem auf vergleichende Studien der stilistischen Merkmale der Keramik stützte. Seit einiger Zeit gibt es jedoch bei zahlreichen Forschern Zweifel, ob die Art der Dekoration der Gefäße mit absoluten Daten übereinstimmt. Um dieses Problem anzugehen, führen die Autoren seit einigen Jahren ein Projekt über die älteste LBK-Siedlung nördlich der Karpaten durch. Ausgangspunkt ist die Stätte in Gwoździec. Die dort durchgeführten Forschungen und die aus interdisziplinären Analysen resultierenden Schlussfolgerungen erwiesen sich als äußerst wichtig für die gesamte Zone nördlich der Karpaten. Ihr Ergebnis ist eine Überarbeitung der Radiokarbonchronologie in Bezug auf den Keramikstil. Außerdem wurde eine große Menge neuer Daten über das Alltagsleben dieser Gemeinschaften gewonnen.

Studies on the ratios of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen constitute a research tool commonly applied in bioarchaeology to reconstruct human diets, including the origins of proteins consumed, the relationship between plant and animal foods, weaning processes, and parameters of the environment from which the food was obtained. Within the comprehensive analysis of the excavation results carried out at site 3 in Miechów (approximately 30 km north of Kraków), isotope analyses of δ 13 C and δ 15 N were performed on the human groups that inhabited the site from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. In total, 41 skeletons were investigated. The analyses aimed to hypothesise the nutritional strategies of communities of successive periods and to compare the knowledge obtained with current data and interpretations on food management in prehistoric communities of Central Europe. The results indicate a general predominance of a terrestrial diet, with plant-based foods prevailing, although not conspicuously. However, there are indications of slightly varying nutritional strategies among successive human groups. These differences are related to the contribution of animal protein and the relationship between C3 and C4 plants. For instance, in the Middle Neolithic (4 th millennium BC), a greater consumption of meat and/or cereals from manured fields can be postulated compared to the Early Neolithic (late 6 th and 5 th millennia BC). On the other hand, the proportion of meat in the diet of Early Bronze Age inhabitants (2 nd millennium BC) was possibly the lowest in the entire history of site occupation. This proportion returned to near-Neolithic levels in the developed Bronze Age and Iron Age (1 st millennium BC). Regarding plant food, the results indicate greater variability in the plants consumed in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Levels of δ 13 C imply some contribution from C4 plants, that is, millet, during these periods. This aligns with recently formulated theories suggesting the post-Neolithic beginnings of millet cultivation and consumption in Central Europe.

The Early Eneolithic period in Lesser Poland is represented by the Lublin-Volhynian culture and the Wyciąże-Złotniki group. For both of them, the main cultural references were the Middle Copper Age groups from the Carpathian Basin (the Bodrogkeresztúr, the Hunyadihalom-Lažňany, the Balaton-Lasinja cultures, as well as the Ludanice, and the Bajč-Retz-Gajary groups). One of the most important indicators of the Transcarpathian influence was the use of various copper objects by local communities and their deposition in graves. A set of seventeen objects, mostly from well-dated grave contexts, was analysed to establish the provenance of the copper artefacts used in western Lesser Poland. This set included artefacts discovered in Złota Grodzisko I and Grodzisko II, Książnice 2, Koniecmosty, Kraków-Wyciąże 5 and Kraków-Cło 7. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis was used to study the chemical compositions, while lead isotope ratios were determined using a inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-MC-ICP-MS). In addition, some of the objects were visually inspected under a digital microscope to determine how they were made and used. As a result of this analytical programme, it was possible to establish that both Lesser Poland groups used the same copper distribution networks. Initially (c. 4050–3950 BC), the copper originated from the mines in Serbia that at the time were controlled, as suggested in the literature, by the peoples of the Bodrogkeresztúr culture, and also from the mines in the Slovak ore Mountains, linked to the Ludanice group. It appears, however, that from c. 3950 BC onwards, the only source of metal for the production of copper objects used by the inhabitants of western Lesser Poland were the mines located in the Slovak Ore Mountains. This research also suggested that, while around 3950–3800 BC, there was a marked regression in the production and use of copper artefacts in the Carpathian Basin, in the area of western Lesser Poland there was an increase in the use and, most likely, local production of original copper jewellery.

The Struma/Strymon River valley, due to its key geographical position, carving a corridor in mountain massifs, served as a natural communication route between the north: south-eastern and central Balkans and further on – Central Europe, and the south: the coast of the Aegean Sea. The lack of detailed studies of the settlement pattern have not allowed for complete characterization of its role in the cultural contacts of prehistoric communities. Fortunately, this state of research is changing, due to the carrying out intensive field surveying, and recording of archaeological sites. As a result of it, evidence of the flourishing of settlements in the Late Bronze Age and the transition period between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age were recorded. In addition to flat settlements, “atypical” sites were also identified – called the Kamenska Chuka-type, named after the first discovered site of this type, located in naturally defensive and hard-to-reach places with a wide observation views. From the very moment of discovery, researchers have been speculating about the functions of these archaeological sites. The aim of this article is to attempt to explain some issues – nature and purpose related to Kamenska Chuka-type sites and verify the theses put forward by researchers of the topic, using geographic information system (GIS) technology and freely available spatial data, combining them with traditional archaeological data.

In 2014, a multi-type hoard of bronze metalwork was unearthed as a result of illegal metal detection on the peaty lakeshore in the village of Elgiszewo, north-central Poland. The hoard contains horse gear items, body and dress ornaments and other metal objects dating back to the Late Bronze Age, accompanied by casting mould and a Kannelurenstein that could have once formed part of a metalworker’s toolkit. This article presents and discusses the results of archaeological and metallographic examinations of the hoard, aided by paleoenvironmental, petrographic and traceological investigations of Kannelurensteine from the region. The results are then combined with the wider socio-economic context of the North European Bronze Age, including the geography of metal hoarding and the use of metal in the economic, social and ritual activities of the Lusatian period in Poland.

During excavations carried out in 2023 at the cemetery of the Lusatian culture in Dąbrowa, site 2, Wieluń County, an urnless cremation burial was discovered (Object 24), which is dated generally to the Hallstatt period. Burnt human bones were scattered throughout the object, which form a relatively compact cluster in the central part of the grave. Ceramic fragments from various vessels were found in the fill of the grave cavity. Metal objects, both bronze and iron, showed signs of being smoldered in the fire. This fosters the conclusion that they had been burned with the deceased on the pyre and placed in the grave together with burned human bones. At the same time, such a state of preservation of the grave offerings made it impossible to specify the dating of the tomb. Within the grave, a fragment of an iron plate was found, on which mineralized remains of fabric were preserved. Technological analysis showed that it was a half-basket weave fabric of a very high quality, made of thin z-single yarn (0.25–0.30 mm and 0.40–0.50 mm) and of surprisingly high thread count (32–34/12–14 threads per cm). In the basin of the Vistula and the Oder rivers, none of the fabrics discovered so far had similar parameters. On the other hand, textiles from the main canters of weaving production at the time, such as the Hallstatt culture and the Scandinavian area, showed similar characteristics, but only in rare examples. This highlights the importance of the weaving product presented here. It is difficult to answer conclusively whether we are dealing in this case with an imported object or one produced in a local weaving workshop, although much points to the first option. Given the context of the find and the accompanying offerings, it can be assumed that the fabric belonged to a person of a higher social status. The local community’s custom of accumulating and then depositing imported items of quality into graves also makes such a hypothesis plausible. On the other hand, certain foreign patterns were adopted and creatively developed in local craft workshops of the Lusatian Culture. Most likely, involvement in long-distance trade routes allowed this society to achieve a high position in the aforementioned exchange. It was important to settle and control areas located in the basin of the upper Warta and Prosna rivers, i. e., on the southern borderlands of central Poland. It was here, through Silesia, that foreign patterns flowed in, which were then transmitted further along the Warta river basin in the northern direction, towards the “Lusatian interior”. The communication route created for the Baltic amber trade played an important role here. Finds of this raw material were recorded both in the Hallstatt circle, in areas of northern Italy, and present-day Slovenia.

One of the key sites for understanding the scale of the mobility and intercultural contact between continental Europe (Poland and northern Germany) and Jutland and southern Scandinavia (including Öland and Gotland) in the Iron Age is the previously unpublished cemetery at Store Frigård on Bornholm. The 1256 graves, dating from the early pre-Roman Iron Age to the late Roman period (500 BC–AD 400), make Store Frigård the largest and longest-functioning cemetery on Bornholm and in the entire Baltic area. In the graves were recorded at least 650 metal finds (ornaments and parts of clothing, tools and weaponry). As an example of trans-regional contacts, the paper analyzes iron brooches with a long true spring and a large, cast bronze ornament on the bow, Kostrzewski type K brooches, the so-called ‘Scandinavian belts’ and, as a local pattern, brooches type Slusegård 7c. The presence of cross-regional clothing elements can be interpreted as an indication of the diffusion of cultural patterns, exchange and/or trade, and the mobility of people (including artisans), as well as long- or short-distance exogamy and alliance building. All such contacts had to be undertaken by sea. The positioning of Bornholm in the Baltic meant that it could be used as a starting point or as a ‘pit-stop’ for longer cruises. The problem is that there are no remaining boats or ships from the younger pre-Roman and early Roman periods, but maritime attempts to reconstruct a much earlier boat from Hjorstpiring have shown that it could have made even longer cruises. With a boat paddled by a well-trained crew, it was possible to cover a distance of between 40 and 55 nm in a long day depending on weather conditions. This would easily have allowed a crew to cover the distance between the Swedish coast (Schonen) and Bornholm, which is only 20 nm, where the distance is shortest. A much longer journey (56 nm), but also possible, would be the route from Nexø to Mielno or Kołobrzeg in central Pomerania, Poland. The route from Gotland to Bornholm, despite the much longer distance (about 160 nm in a direct line), also seems quite feasible. In this case, the easiest way would be to sail to Öland and then stick to the Öland coast and then Sweden. Such a voyage, however, would require much more time and, above all, crew effort, and numerous pit-stops would be needed. This route is reflected in archaeological materials, for example, in the Scandinavian belt fittings discussed here. A direct trip from Gotland to the Gulf of Gdańsk would be much more difficult. The problem here is the long distance, some 160 nm, and the lack of stopping facilities along the way. Perhaps imports from Gotland made their way to the Vistula estuary region by a circuitous route, via the “reloading station” at Bornholm. However, Scandinavian or Baltic imports from the younger Pre-Roman period are accumulated almost exclusively in the lower Vistula region, and there are only few traces, if any, in Central Pomerania. The direct route from Bornholm to the Gulf of Gdańsk is longer, about 170 nm, and just as difficult, unless the captain chooses to sail to Central Pomerania in one jump, and then all the way along the coast. Such voyages were most likely to have taken place in summer due to better weather conditions, milder waves and greater visibility of the sky and destination, allowing for better navigation. The relatively small amount of goods that could be taken in a fairly small paddled boats indicates that the mobility had other, more personalised reasons than a regular, profit-oriented trade with a strictly commercial function.

Zusammenfassung Im Jahr 2010 wurde auf dem polykulturellen Fundplatz 5 von Czarnówko, Kreis Lębork, ein Brandgrab der Oksywie-Kultur (Befund 1381C) entdeckt. Das Grab barg eine Reihe von Schmiedewerkzeugen, darunter eine Zange, einen Hammerkopf und eine Feile. Zur Ausstattung gehörten ferner ein Rasiermesser mit halbrunden Fortsätzen (Hörnern), zwei Ringglieder aus Bronze sowie eine geschweifte Fibel mit Fortsätzen awuf dem Fuß. Letztere war zwar Teil der Tracht, könnte aber auch als Hilfswerkzeug für den Schmied gedient haben, ähnlich einer Biegegabel. Die Metallanalysen für die beiden Ringglieder und den am der Feile haftenden Schmelz ergaben, dass wir es in allen Fällen mit Zinnbronze mit einen deutlichen Anteil von Blei (von 2 % bis fast 3 %) bei den Ringgliedern zu tun haben. Die Bestattung aus Czarnówko, die in die Phase A3 der jüngeren vorrömischen Periode datiert, ist das erste Grab der Oksywie-Kultur, das einen umfangreichen Satz an Schmiedewerkzeugen barg. Die Werkzeuge weisen enge Parallelen zu Funden aus der keltischen Kultur auf, aber auch zu solchen, die in Gräbern außerhalb ihres Verbreitungsgebiets gefunden wurden. Aus der Germania magna sind drei weitere Gräber der jüngeren Vorrömischen Zeit bekannt, die eine Zange, einen Hammer und eine Feile enthielten. Zwei davon, die in die Phasen A2 und A3 datieren, stammen aus der Przeworsk-Kultur, eines mit einer etwas jüngeren Zeitstellung (Phase A/B1) aus dem Elbegebiet. Das Vorhandensein von Waffen in einigen Gräbern, die mit spezialisierten Werkzeugen ausgestattet waren, lässt darauf schließen, dass es sich bei den bestatteten Handwerkern um freie, wohlhabende Personen und Mitglieder einer Gefolgschaft handelte. Der Grund für das Fehlen von Waffen im Grab des Schmieds von Czarnówko könnte in der Entwicklung der Bestattungssitten liegen, die wir für die Oksywie-Kultur während der A3-Phase beobachten. Ihre Auswirkungen sowie die wirtschaftlichen und politischen Entwicklungen in Europa führten zur Herausbildung einer neuen Kultur in der frühen römischen Zeit – der Wielbark-Kultur –, die Waffen und spezielle Arbeitsgeräte aus dem Beigabenspektrum verbannte.

In 2014, a fragment of a spur was discovered at the site in Kwiatków, Turek District, Brudzew Commune, within section G75, in mechanical layer I. This artefact likely originated from an early medieval burial ground located nearby, with its original site possibly altered due to intensive farming. The presented spur exemplifies extraordinary craftsmanship. This paper is a case study, the purpose of which is to examine the title artefact, while referencing other analogous discoveries. The uniqueness of this artefact lies in the absence of direct parallels to other objects featuring horse motifs of similar chronology. Consequently, an effort has been made to compare the spurs from Kwiatków with those of the Lutomiersk type, specimens with hooked fastenings, and artefacts unrelated to equestrian equipment. Furthermore, an analysis of the ornamentation, including its significance and manufacturing technique, has been conducted. The artefact has also undergone laboratory testing. The results obtained from XRF spectrometry, carried out at the Conservation and Dating Laboratory of the Institute of Archaeology, University of Łódź, were correlated with the results of studies of spurs from Pomerania, Silesia, the upper Elbe River area, and Moravia. Specialised examinations of the Kwiatków spur revealed the presence of zinc as an alloying element. This paper also delves into the manufacturing techniques of the Kwiatków artefact, utilising current findings on the specificity of early medieval crafts. This spur contributes to a collection of similar discoveries associated with the products of communities inhabiting the West Slavic lands. Fragmentarily preserved and lacking contextual dating, the Kwiatków spur has no precise analogues in Polish lands to date. An attempt to classify the artefact resulted in its assignment to technotype I according to J. Żak, suggesting a chronology between the 8 th and 9 th centuries, corresponding to the pottery found at the Kwiatków site. The presence of these materials and of the title artefact, potentially linked to an early medieval cemetery, significantly enhances our understanding of this period in history.

The bullion hoard was recovered using a detector tool from the multicultural site at Gąski, Inowrocław commune (site 18) in the years 2008–2015. Originally, the deposit involved at least 273 elements scattered as a result of deep ploughing. It comprises Islamic coins (183 specimens), West European coins (71 specimens), as well as silver jewellery (19 specimens). The diverse silver bullion hoard unearthed in Gąski, Kuyavia, based on the typological and comparative analysis of its components, was deposited after the year 983. In terms of its structure and fragmentation level, it corresponds to many hoards of the same timeframe known from Greater Poland. However, in Kuyavia, it was the first find of this kind and, at the same time, the oldest well-documented silver hoard in that area.

Motte-type castles were among the most widespread residential and defensive objects in medieval Europe, founded by rulers, bishops, nobility and knights. This cultural phenomenon is investigated both in terms of its origins, chronology, and spread. An interesting example is the princely complex in Chełm, built in the 13 th century on the western outskirts of Rus’ as the capital of Danylo Romanovich and remaining under his successors’ rule until the 1330s. Many years of archaeological research have yielded intriguing results indicating that the form of the princely residence referred to a motte-type structure of Western European origin. What should be stressed here is a relative early chronology of the complex, particularly with regard to the spread of motte-type objects in East-Central Europe (1230s). The summary of research data indicates that the spread of this new type of fortification in western Rus’ was inspired by the founding activity of Prince Daniel, and from 1264 – his successors. A comparative analysis of the Chełm complex and European mottes points to numerous analogies. They concern primarily forms – a centrally located towers and residential buildings erected either on a mound or on solid ground and then surrounded by an embankment. A fortification in the form of a rampart or palisade was built on the edge of the mound. Analogies to the Chełm foundation from both Phases I and II can be found practically throughout all of Europe, just to mention Bretoncelles (France), Lürken, Schulenburg, Krepe, Hoppenrade, Neuendorf, Schöna (Germany), Farnham, phase I (England). A specific construction of the Phase I mound, with an external stone wall deserves particular attention. Such constructional solution is relatively rare, although it was confirmed in various parts of Europe, from England through the Netherlands to southern Italy, e. g., in Borssele (Netherlands), Farnham (England), Ghent (Belgium), San Marco Argentano (Italy). Noteworthy, objects listed above are interpreted as transitional between a motte and a regular castle. Objects of this type have not been registered either in today’s Poland or in other countries of East-Central Europe. The motte-type residence in Chełm, dated back to the 1230s, can be regarded one of the most interesting examples of cultural contacts between Rus’ and Western Europe. The expected research direction is further investigation of motte-type structures in Central and Eastern Europe, focused on their chronology, construction techniques, spatial organization, and founders.