EN
A slightly disturbed urned grave of Oksywie Culture discovered by accident in 2004 at Wyczechowo site 9, comm. Somonino produced fragments of a destroyed urn, an iron brooch – J. Kostrzewski type I (1919), a biconical miniature vessel and a pair of bronze tweezers (Fig. 1). Sixty finds of tweezers are known from Oksywie Culture deposits, most of them made of iron (Figs. 3A, 4–6). Of these the majority correspond to J. Kostrzewski’s group I (1919, list 75, 76), mainly, types IB and C (Figs. 4:2–10, 5). Group II is represented by a smaller number of pieces characterised by narrow and straight arms, which expand only at their terminals to a triangular (Fig. 6:1–3) or rectangular shape (Fig. 6:4). A different form, defined as ‘rectangular’, known from Podwiesk belongs to group III (Fig. 6:5.6). Except for a single specimen from Nowe Dobra, grave 11/1905 (Fig. 4:4) all the other iron tweezers lack ornamentation. This is unlike bronze tweezers, which are mostly forms classified as type IB (Figs. 3B, 7:1–6) – all are ornamented on the loop and arms. Iron tweezers are dated generally to phases A2 and A3 whereas bronze forms tend to cluster in the later segment of phase A2, and chiefly in phase A3. Pieces recorded in Oksywie Culture deposits mostly occurred in urned graves containing ‘male’ grave goods. A small number of is recorded in grave assemblages of Jastorf Culture and its related cultures (Bornholm, Gotland, Oland, Poieneşti-Lukaševka). Tweezers are relatively frequent in Przeworsk C. deposits where they are noted in contexts dated to phase A1. During the Roman Period tweezers – mostly bronze specimens – are recorded in Wielbark Culture, both in male and in female graves. The purpose of tweezers is not entirely clear. It appears that next to their role of cosmetic or medial implements they may have been used also as ornaments, as suggested by the fine specimen from Wyczechowo.