EN
The collection of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw contains materials from a cemetery at Łęg Piekarski, Great Poland (Wielkopolska), originating both from chance finds as well as from brief but methodical research conducted in 1936 by Z. Durczewski. Unfortunately, substantial gaps in the documentation, loss of many of the original labels and the fact that grave inventories may have been mixed up when already in storage seriously hinder the reconstruction of the original grave assemblages. Establishing the actual number of graves is additionally made difficult by the fact that a cemetery of the Cloche Grave culture was also found on the same site, as confirmed also by 1975–77 investigation by K. Jażdżewski. In his publication E. Petersen listed - apart from finds originating from a “princely” grave – an Early Roman Period urned grave labelled as no. 1, and only a part of material originating from other cremation graves in storage at the State Archaeological Museum (E. Petersen 1940, 50, 51). Petersen nowhere explains what principles guided his selection of material for publication. At present the State Archaeological Museum collection contains the following materials: 1. Fragments of a Cloche Grave Culture urn defined as belonging to grave 1 (original label); 2. Finds identified as inventory of grave 2 (according to labels copied in the 1970s) include: an urn (Fig. 1a), a bowl (Fig. 1e), a cup (Fig. 1f), a vessel (Fig. 1g), an iron fibula similar to type A.76 (Fig. 1b), an iron single-edged sword (Fig. 2f), a fragment of an iron scabbard (Fig. 2k), an iron spur, so-called Stuhlsporn (Fig. 1d), two iron lance-points (Fig. 2c,d), a fragment of another iron point (Fig. 2e), an iron knife with a bronze hilt plate (Fig. 1c), two fragments of iron shears (Fig. 2b), two fragments of an iron mounting (Fig. 2i,j), two iron rivets (Fig. 2g,h), a frame of a bronze buckle, slightly deformed in fire (Fig. 1h), a fragment of an iron fitting (Fig. 2a) and numerous fragments of considerably damaged iron objects; 3. Grave 3 (original label) is represented only by lumps of melted bronze. The “princely” grave, labelled as grave IIa, contained fragments of a cup (Fig. 5a) and of glossy black vessels (Fig. 5b–e, 6a,b,f,h,i). Several score uncharacteristic pottery fragments, including a Cloche Grave Culture vessel, had been recovered, according to the labels, from ditches 1–4 and 8–10 (Fig. 6c–e,g). Artifacts originating from undetermined finds included two iron scabbard clasps (Fig. 3i, j), iron shears (Fig. 3a), a spike of an iron spur (Fig. 3h), a fragment of a bottom of a bronze vessel, mouth fragment of a bronze vessel (Fig. 3b), a fragment of a sheet bronze hoop (Fig. 3c), fragments of a bronze vessel damaged in fire, two ornamental bronze discs (Fig. 3d,e), two bronze rivets, presumably belonging to the ornamental discs (Fig. 3f), fragment of an iron tendril fibula (Fig. 3g) and a Marcus Aurelius denarius (A. Kietlińska 1957, 282). Moreover, the State Archaeological Museum contains materials from a flat cemetery published by E. Petersen (labels copied in the 1970s). To summarise, it may be said that the site at Łęg Piekarski included a Cloche Grave Culture cemetery and a burial ground of the Przeworsk Culture but the number of graves in the cemetery in question remains virtually unknown. K. Jażdżewski also identified several graves during his investigation of the site (K. Jażdżewski 1978, 128). The material from cremation graves is dated almost without exception to phases B1 and B2 of the Roman Period. This makes them contemporary with “princely” graves. Finds dating from the Pre-Roman Period are not in evidence even among stray finds recovered from trial trenches. This suggests the lack of continuity between the cemetery of the Cloche Grave Culture and that of the Przeworsk Culture. The latest material includes a bronze fibula type A.162 dated to phase C1b–C2 and a fragment of an iron tendril fibula, which may be dated generally to the Late Roman Period.