Volume 99, Issue 3

Pálava is a complex of prominent limestone hills in South Moravia, with extensive traces of prehistoric activities. This study presents the results of a long-term metal-detecting survey of the Pálava Hills and their surroundings. It focuses on findings dated to the Bronze Age and especially to the Urnfield period with 673 from the topsoil recovered artefacts. The study monitors the functional composition of the items within the dataset, as well as the spatial distribution of individual artefacts. The data from the surveys allow comparisons between the enclosed sites at the Stolová hora, Kotel, and Děvín hills, and the open satellite settlements in the hinterland. The results are also used for a comparison with other Moravian Bronze Age sites that have been surveyed with the same method. The study also includes a metallographic analysis of 177 objects. The results create a picture of an intensively used hillfort at Stolová hora, which in the Urnfield period represented a centrepiece of a broader agglomeration, and at some point, also probably of the whole region.

The aim of the present paper is to explore the role monuments and monumentality play in the creation of collective identities in early Greece by focusing on two case studies, Lefkandi and Eretria. Equal emphasis will be given to the study of both the burials and the buildings that were subsequently created in honour of the deceased, transforming both sites from individual monuments to collective ones. People’s perceptions of the monuments changed over time affecting their monumentality hence influencing the emergence of collective identities centred around the Toumba cemetery and the West Gate cemetery at Lefkandi and Eretria respectively.

The collection of archaeological finds from Lesonice provides a unique evidence for contacts between the Late La Tène environment in the Middle Danube region and the territory of south-eastern Poland. Problematic circumstances of finding and atypical localisation do not allow to clearly determine the find context. The article therefore discusses both possibilities – burial and hoard/offering. The assemblage of finds can be dated to stage LTD1 or LTD2a, and, according to the chronology of the Pre-Roman Period in Poland, to stage A2 or to the transition A2/A3.

Zusammenfassung Im Beitrag wird der Altfund einer Grabbeigabe aus Turza Wielka (ehem. Groß Tauersee) präsentiert. Dabei handelt es sich um ein keramisches Objekt, das eine römische Öllampe nachahmt. Der Fund ist bislang in der Forschung eher unbeachtet geblieben, wird hier jedoch intensiver analysiert. Grabkontext, kulturelle Stellung, Datierung und mögliche römische Parallelen werden herausgearbeitet. Zur Deutung der nachgeahmten Öllampe werden die Verwendung von Öllampen im Römischen Reich sowie theoretische Konzepte herangezogen und auf ihre Schlüssigkeit bezüglich des Fundes überprüft.

This survey of archaeological and onomastic evidence, prominently including Style I–III animal art, aims at identifying the most promising locations where elite manorial settlements of the period AD 375–1125 can be expected in the Medieval Swedish province of Närke. One such site of c. AD 600–800 has been partly excavated at Husby in Glanshammar. This parish is one of six that stand out by their unusually rich, numerous and sustained elite indications. A recent campaign of large intensive metal detector investigations has proven both a boon and a bias in terms of new evidence. None of the six most promising parishes would however fall off the elite map even without the new metal detector finds. Of the place names, Tuna appears to be irrelevant to Närke’s elite, while two out of three Husby names correlate with Viking Period elite indicators.

The article presents the results of research carried out at Sacharewo in the Białowieża Forest, involving excavations of a barrow cemetery associated with the Roman Period and the nearby settlement, which delivered finds from the Early Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Period and the Modern Period. Noteworthy was a significant amount of material from the Iron Age and the Roman Period, linked with the Hatched Pottery and Wielbark cultures, possibly indicating a certain revival of settlement in that area between the turn of the eras and the 5th/6th century AD. Thanks to the analysis of airborne laser scanning data, it was also possible to identify a complex of ancient arable fields in the surroundings of the barrow cemetery. The excavations were conducted along with sampling for geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses. A significant pool of 14 C dates was also collected. The studies idientified the remains of a stable and continuous (though not very developed and intensive) settlement on the left side of the Leśna River, a barrow cemetery and a field system, possibly used at the same time. This microregion functioned in the first centuries AD, although materials linked to the early Middle Ages were also found. At this stage, however, it is not possible to determine their continuity with finds from the Roman Period. The discoveries also provide an insight into the external cultural influences on the area during the Roman Period. The conducted research complements other recent findings from the Białowieża Forest, which, given its primeval nature and the limited role of human activity during past centuries, is an excellent area for further investigations of settlement and economy patterns from different periods.

In the archaeological campaign carried out in 2019, at Argamum, Small Gate sector, an imperial lead seal was found. On the obverse of the seal is stamped the face of an emperor, frontally depicted, with a beard, scepter on the left shoulder and two round fibulas placed on both shoulders. On the legend, arranged in a circle and partially preserved, we can read: Dominus Noster Theodosivs Avgustus. Imperial seals stamped with the effigy of Emperor Theodosius II have not been discovered until now in the territory of the province of Scythia Minor. The lead seal could be dated in the last two decade of the reign of the emperor Theodosius II.

Zusammenfassung In dieser Studie wird ein „östlicher“ Spiegel mit zentraler Schleife untersucht, der mit dem Typ Berjozovka-Carnuntum-Mödling verwandt ist und kürzlich in Secuieni, Kreis Bacău, Rumänien, entdeckt wurde. Diese Spiegel sind bei Nomadenstämmen verbreitet. Sie wurden vor allem im nördlichen Kaukasus sowie nördlich und nordwestlich des Schwarzen Meeres gefunden. Die Spiegel kamen während der Völkerwanderung nach Europa und begleiteten die Alanen und die hunnischen Stämme nach Osten. Im 5. Jh. n. Chr. wurden sie vor allem im mittleren und unteren Donauraum gefunden. Die meisten Spiegel stammen aus Frauengräbern, oft mit künstlich deformierten Schädeln, die mit Prestigegegenständen (wie großen Silberfibeln mit halbkreisförmigen Kopfplatten, Adlerfibeln, Golddiademen, granulierten Ohrringen, Perlen usw.) bestattet wurden. In Rumänien sind nur zwölf solcher Spiegel dokumentiert, und in der Region Moldau (Rumänien, Region zwischen Ostkarpaten und Pruth) nur einer in fragmentarischer Form. Der neu entdeckte Spiegel von Secuieni ist daher von großem archäologischen Wert und wirft ein Licht auf die archäologische Landschaft der Völkerwanderungszeit östlich der Karpaten und weit darüber hinaus, bis nach China.

The paper discusses a mysterious zoomorphic wolf-shaped copper alloy artefact that was discovered as a stray find in Międzyrzecz (Poland). The find is bar-like with a profiled engraved image of a lying animal, possibly a wolf. It is locally gilded on the visible side of “wolf” details. The gilding was made using an amalgam technique known since Antiquity, with the base metal composed of arsenical copper alloy with lead addition. A fixing element made of iron has only survived fragmentarily, which renders the reconstruction of the entire artefact’s shape impossible. Its function has not been identified, but a broad spectrum of possible interpretations has been proposed. Stylistic traits allow to date the artefact to the Migration Period, or more specifically to the 6 th century. The wolf image implies that the artefact can be related to the Germanic warriors’ world. At present, it cannot be determined whether there was a 6 th century settlement cluster in the vicinity of Międzyrzecz to which the find can be related, or we are dealing with an isolated testimony of population translocations.

Zusammenfassung Der vorliegende Artikel präsentiert eine archäologische Methode zum Nachweis marktwirtschaftlichen Austausches anhand von Keramik, die hier als typische Handelsware definiert ist. Ein Keramikkomplex aus dem großmährischen (9. Jh.) Zentralort Staré Město bei Uherské Hradiště wurde archäometrisch (XRF, Petrographie, XRD) untersucht. Das Ergebnis zeigt ein komplexes Handelsnetz zwischen dem Zentrum und Teilen des Hinterlandes. Weiterhin bestätigen die Ergebnisse die These einer Einbindung des Zentrums in ein regionales Marktsystem und helfen, die Kommerzialisierungsprozesse der lokalen frühmittelalterlichen Wirtschaft zu verstehen.

Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag ist den Bestattungsbräuchen in der Zeit vom Ende des 9. bis zum 13. Jh. in dem Gebiet gewidmet, das historisch mit dem Stamm der Sudauer (Jaćwingowie) verbunden ist. Auf einer Übersichtskarte, die die frühmittelalterliche Besiedlung auf preußischem Gebiet darstellt, ist eine Ansammlung von Fundstellen hervorgehoben, die als Czarna Hańcza Gruppe bezeichnet wird. Innerhalb dieses Komplexes wurden bisher 16 Gräberfelder entdeckt. Deren Analyse ergab, dass im Laufe von mehr als 150 Jahren Forscher aus verschiedenen Ländern ähnliche Nekropolen entdeckt haben. Sie befanden sich auf dem Staatsgebiet mehrerer Länder (zuerst Russland und Ostpreußen, dann Polen und Litauen) und wurden in den meisten Fällen stichprobenartig untersucht und nie zusammengeführt. Es handelt sich um flache Brandgräberfelder. In einigen von ihnen wurden sehr flache und ausgedehnte Gruben beobachtet, in den Konzentrationen von verbrannten Knochen und Ausrüstung beobachtet wurden, osteologisches und archäologisches Material aber auch verstreut in den ganzen Gruben zu finden war. In anderen Fällen konnten nur erhebliche Mengen von verbrannten menschlichen Knochen und mitunter sehr reiche Ausrüstungsbeigaben in der Oberflächenschicht festgestellt werden. Die Ausstattung weist sehr oft Spuren von vorsätzlicher Zerstörung (Schneiden, Biegen, Brechen) und Verbrennung auf dem Scheiterhaufen auf. Eine Übersicht, die Tausende von Fundfragmenten, die bisher aus der Czarna Hańcza Gruppe bekannt sind einbezieht, ermöglichte es, die Leitfunde für diese Region zu definieren.

Many years of archaeological excavation brought to light a rich material, that can be used in research of topics important from a social and economic point of view, such as the character of the production and/or organization, the development of technique and production technology, or the assortment of goods. A deep analysis of the selected categories of artifacts, in this case made of leather, can be used for a double purpose – a reconstruction of the process and conditions of early medieval leather craft formation, as well as a presentation of their role and significance in the activity structure of the inhabitants of Szczecin. Such an attempt to grasp the rules governing the development of one of the most important production branches – leatherworking, has been undertaken on the basis of leather objects that can be found on a mass scale in Szczecin’s cultural layers dated for the period from the early 10 th to the mid-13 th century. Key to these studies are the results of zoological analyses, which perfectly complement the archaeological conclusions.

In the course of explorations of an early medieval fortified centre in Pawłówek on the periphery of East Pomerania and Kuyavia, as many as 49 coins and one planchet were found deposited within cultural layers dated back from the turn of the 1070s to the beginning of the 1100s. Nearly half of them showed characteristics typical of coin counterfeiting. Physical-chemical studies proved that they were manufactured using mainly copper with a small addition of silver, tin, zinc, or lead. It is the most numerous series of this kind of coins ever unearthed in the area of Poland, second only to the hoard of Włynkowo in East Pomerania. The variety of these finds in terms of manufacturing technique and technology suggests that they come from different sources. Due to the nature of the examined centre that served for treasurial and fiscal purposes (customs chamber), it was concluded that a considerable number of the counterfeit coins in this place can be linked to an intentional selection of such coins from the ore mass that constituted customs duties and/or local manufacturing of forged coins.

The approach developed by Gottfried Semper in the mid-19 th century seems to be quite productive for studying the evolution of forms and decoration of objects of material culture. Based on the relationship between the properties of materials and technologies, it formed the basis of modern design practices. The use of this approach makes it possible to explain many phenomena, particularly, the emergence of skeuomorphic forms of ornament (so-called ‘technical ornament’), and also to expand our understanding of materials and technologies that have not reached our time. The reconstruction of non-preserved elements of culture can be complemented by studies on their visual representation in fine art. The principle of development of material culture can also be represented as a movement from the archetype to the material embodiment of ideas, which is possible at the corresponding level of technological development.

The presence of wild boar on the island of Crete has been discussed since the beginning of Cretan archaeology. Presumed wild individuals are depicted on various types of objects from the Minoan period. Wild pig remains have been identified on several Cretan sites ranging from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period. Despite the relatively large number of such reports, the nature of evidence from the island is often unclear or at least questionable. Available biometric data do not support the establishment of a stable wild population on the island during its history. This paper provides a detailed overview of contemporary evidence and highlights the need for systematic data collection.