Search results

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Zapinka typu mazurskiego z wyspy na Jeziorze Legińskim, pow. kętrzyński

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Jaremek A., Nowakowska M.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2012

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vol. LXIII

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issue 63

232-234

EN

The triple-crest fibula, Mazurian variant, surfaced in spring of 2012 during a surface survey made on the island on Lake Legińskie in the Mazury region. The artefact rested directly on the surface of the ground within a layer of plant litter. The surface reconnaissance was carried out at the time to complement an archaeological excavation started at this location in 2011. According to already held archaeological there was stable settlement on the island during the Early Iron Age (Leginy IX). The place of discovery of the fibula was investigated by excavation in July 2012 but did not reveal the presence of a culture deposit or archaeological features making the fibula a stray find devoid of stratigraphic and chronological context. In the classification system of T. Hauptmann the fibula belongs to variant 2, series 3, of triple-crest fibulae. Finds of Mazurian variant fibulae are widespread on the territory of Bogaczewo Culture and relatively numerous in Sambia, in Dollkeim-Kovrovo Culture, where they have been recorded in assemblages dated to phase B2/C1–C1a. The fibula from Leginy has a length of 10 cm, is made of bronze and retains a fragment of an iron pin attached hinge-like to the axle. The fibula bow is solid and recessed, the foot is turned upwards and extends beyond the catchplate. The crests on the head and bow are richly ornamented with a design of parallel lines and triangles. The third crest, reduced to a tongue-shaped terminal of the foot, is decorated with lines arranged at centre and on its perimeter. The fibula is unique in being decorated on its head plate with a zigzag line and having two polygonal loops. Finds of Mazurian variant fibulae with a loop at the upper edge of their head plate are relatively rare and are known from e.g., Stare Kiejkuty and Mojtyny. The specimen from Leginy is the only fibula recorded so far to have two loops. Loops or openings on Mazurian variant fibulae are interpreted as attachments for other elements, e.g., a strap or a string of beads. The hypothesis that two fibulae were worn symmetrically at shoulder level and used for attaching additional ornaments is supported by finds of “paired” fibulae from Kosewo, Mojtyny and Kamień. The presence of the Mazurian variant fibula on the island on Lake Legińskie may not be completely random. Let us note that an iron axe with a Bogaczewo Culture attribution was recovered from the bottom of the same lake and the record found in archival documentation on a Bogaczewo Culture grave-field on the eastern shore of the lake.

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Cmentarzysko z okresu wpływów rzymskich i z okresu wędrówek ludów w Kamieniu na Pojezierzu Mazurskim

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Szter I.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2010

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vol. LXI

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issue 61

201-331

EN

The cemetery at Kamień (distr. Pisz, former Kamien, Kr. Sensburg) lies in the southern area of the Masurian Great Lakes District. The site was excavated in 1906 and 1907 by Felix E. Peiser. Results of this research were never published in full, with only brief reports on the fieldwork and archaeological finds (E. Hollack 1908, p. 65, map – sq K 16; F. E. Peiser 1909, pl. LI; Sitzungsberichte 1919a, p. 517; 1919b, p. 528; M. Jahn 1916, p. 90; 1921, p. 65–66, 68, 110, 117; S. Bolin 1926, p. 237; W. Gaerte 1929, fig. 135i, 146Ab, 146d, 147i, 168e, 177a.d; cf. also note 3). The aim of the article is to give an overview of research at Kamień and reconstruct archaeological assemblages discovered there. Until 1945 the finds from Kamień were held by Prussia-Museum in Königsberg. During WW II a large part of this collection became scattered and perished. Only four finds from the cemetery at Kamień have resurfaced since: two vessels (graves 113 and 136 – pl. XIII/113:1c.d, XVI/136:1b.c), now in the regional Muzeum Warmii i Mazur in Olsztyn and a lancehead with barbs from grave 10 (Pl. IV/10:5d) and omega-shaped ring from grave 92 (Pl. XI/92:2b.c) in keeping of Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Berlin. In addition, two beads from the same museum are also tentatively provenanced to Kamień (Fig. 4). Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte also holds the relevant research documentation, i.e., which comprises the site diary written by Felix E. Peiser in his Journal No. 10 (Fig. 1, Appendix 1) and notes of Peiser with descriptions of the discovered assemblages and archaeological finds (Fig. 3, Appendix 4), copies of Peiser’s Journals no. 7 and 10 made during the 1920s by Hans Tiessen (Appendix 2 & 3), and photographs (Fig. 2a.b). These records have made it possible to determine the exact time of F. Peiser’s fieldwork and specify the number of grave assemblages (168) and three features (marked A, α and β) discovered at Kamien, and to located them on the plan of the cemetery (Fig. 7, 8). The same archival record was used to describe the form of the features (Fig. 21) and their inventories. Essential data on finds from Kamien was obtained from a review of other archival sources, mainly, the files of M. Schmiedehelm, M. Jahn, F. Jakobson, G. Kossinna, C. Engel, R. Grenz and J. Kostrzewski. Collected in the appendices is the complete surviving documentation on the site at Kamień, base material for reconstructing past research of the cemetery and the catalogue of finds. It consists of four documents in manuscript: Journal No. 10 written by Felix E. Peiser (Appendix 1), copies of Peiser’s Journals no. 7 and 10 made during the 1920s by Hans Tiessen (Appendix 2 & 3) and Peiser’s notes with descriptions of the discovered assemblages and archaeological finds (Appendix 4). Each source was copied in italics retaining the original spelling and arrangement of the text. Mistakes and spelling errors have not been corrected. All drawing of the finds and sections found on the margin of these documents were scanned in 1:1 scale and are presented on the plates. In some cases, to better present the vessel ornaments we included 2:1 drawings. Footnotes to the illustrations as well as supplementary information or comments to the text are given in square brackets. Analysis of archaeological material recovered at Kamień indicates that the cemetery was in use during the Roman and the Migration Period, established by the people of Bogaczewo Culture during the mature segment of the Early Roman Period. The greatest number of reliably dated grave assemblages dates from phase B2b–C1a (Fig. 22). This is supported by the presence of diagnostically sensitive ornaments, e.g., pins (type Szwajcaria II – pl. XVII/143:4a–d; variants of type B III – pl. XII/105:1, XVII/142:3; variants Bogaczewo type I – pl. III/9:2), brooches (Mazovian variant – pl. I/1:3; type A.133 – pl. I/2:2; triple-crest brooches of assorted variants – pl. XVIII/156:1; a knee brooch –pl. XVII/143:3a–c; type Babięta – pl. X/77a-b:2), belt fittings (buckles type AD17 – pl. V/30:3; type AG16 – pl. X/77a-b:3; with a double pin – Pl. I/2:3; strap ends: flat – pl. I/2:4, II/4:5a.b, IX/75:3; and profiled – pl. V/30:9a–c) or assorted appliqués (Pl. V/30:4, VI/35:1a.b.5a.b, VII/54:1a.b.2a.b). Also dated to the same period were elements of war gear: a shield-boss: type J6 (Pl. III/10:1a.b), spurs: group E (Pl. I/2:5a.b, II/4:6a.b, III/10:2a.b, V:30:2a–c) and lanceheads (Pl. IV/10:5a–d, VII/53:1a.b, VII/65a:1a.b). The use of the cemetery during the Late Roman Period is documented by the inventory of features no. 82 and 106, which contained brooches type A.161-161, and grave 145 holding a Marcus Aurelius sestertius. A longer series of graves is datable only by pottery and non-ceramic finds broadly to phases C and D, whereas use during the Migration Period is documented by a brooch fragment diagnostic for phase D (grave 25), a buckle with a thickened oval frame, type AH16 (grave 131), and vessels distinctive for the Olsztyn Group e.g., fragmented hollow-footed beaker (grave 24), pottery ornamented with a design engraved the length of the maximum circumference of the vessel (Pl. XV/134:1) and pinched ornament (Pl. XVI/136:1a–c). Absence of furnishings or only the presence of non-characteristic forms prevented the dating of 60 inventories (see note 53). This group included the only horse inhumation discovered at Kamień (grave 23 – pl. V/23:1). Human burials were either of urned or unurned cremation type, characteristic for Bogaczewo Culture and the Olsztyn Group. Some had been deposited within pure sand covered or not with the remains of the cremation pyre. Urns tended to be covered with a bowl, quite often, also with stones over them (e.g., pl. II/5:A.6:A, III/7:A.8:A.9:A, XI/97:A.B). In the unurned burials the cremated remains were either in a compact cluster or spread loosely within the pit (Pl. XII/102:A.B).

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Materiały z cmentarzyska w Leśniewie, pow. kętrzyński (dawne Fürstenau, Kr. Rastenburg)

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Wiśniewska A.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2011

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vol. LXII

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issue 62

119-167

EN

The cemetery at Leśniewo was investigated in the 1880s by G. Bujack. As is the case of many other sites in former East Prussia, the archaeological material entered the Prussia-Museum in Königsberg. Most of it was lost during WW II, a small number resurfaced in the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Berlin, which now has in its keeping a part of the pre-war collections of Königsberg museum. Of 122 features discovered at Leśniewo we have information on only 70. Our source are the publications of G. Bujack and private files of H. Jankuhn and M. Schmiedehelm who worked in East Prussia before WW II. The cemetery continued in use for only a short period – from phase B2a until B2/C1, possibly, C1a. Its original location was confirmed basing on the correspondence of the Prussia-Museum, now in Prussia-Sammlung section of the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte. The burial site occupied the western shore of Lake Rydzówka. The dead were buried at Leśniewo mostly in urned graves. Only four unurned graves were identified: three containing the remains of the cremation pyre (19/9, 47h/22, 58/32) and one, described as Knochenhäufchen, consisted of a concentration of cremated bones deposited within clean sand (39/18). Urns were mainly necked vessels (group I, variants A, B, C and D); next to them there were also a few basin-like forms (group III) highly similar in their shape to group IIA bowls, and at least in two cases a bowl type, IIA. A number of urns had a plastic ornament in the form of handles with multiple openings. Decoration of most vessels was limited to horizontal lines engraved immediately above the maximum diameter of the vessel and/or under the rim, single or in groups of two or three. Only a small number of vessels had a more elaborate ornament. On the body of the bowl placed over the urn in feature 62/35, is a drawing, below its maximum diameter, of roughly executed rings, triangles and strokes, confined between two vertical engraved lines. Other than that, the bowl is decorated with three circumferential lines engraved on the shoulder, and vertical engraved lines in groups of three running from them down to the vessel base. This representation has been interpreted as a drawing of a skull or as a human figure. The only other vessel featuring an anthropomorphic representation from the territory of the Bogaczewo Culture comes from an unspecified feature discovered at Inulec, distr. Mrągowo. On its neck the vessel has a design interpreted as an image of warriors with shields. A slightly larger number of vessels feature ornamentation in the form of zoomorphic representations and diverse geometric symbols. The furnishings of the features investigated at Leśniewo includes ornaments, mostly fibulae and beads, tools, knives, needles, awls, fire-making tools, tweezers, and a socketed axe-head, elements of horse harness and weaponry. Ornaments, dress accessories, tools and implements were mostly deposited in urns, the weapons and elements of horse harness were placed next to the urn. The dominant fibula form were eye fibulae of the Prussian series – as many as 13. Two of these need a closer discussion. The type A60 specimen from feature 47h/22 has a rarely encountered ornament – next to three pairs of eyes on the foot, it also had two pairs of eyes stamped on the bow. The fibula from feature 60/34 had on its bow lengthwise grooves and a row of stamped squares down the middle, its expanded trapeze foot was decorated with two pairs of eyes at centre and a row of four eyes by the lower edge; the eyes at the centre of the foot were connected by engraved lines with the outlying eyes by its edge. The crest of this fibula was imitated by means of three horizontal grooves. The chronology of elaborately decorated eye fibulae is the same as of other specimens in this series and takes in phases B2a and B2b. Feature 31/13 yielded an eye fibula type A62, a variant of the Prussian series, which is a likely import from the Dollkeim/Kovrovo Culture; in cemeteries of Bogaczewo Culture this fibula type is encountered quite rarely. Next to the forms discussed above fibula finds included a single strongly profiled type A79 specimen discovered in feature 116/63, a specimen close to 10 series, V group, in grave 64/37, and three triple-crest fibulae, type A96, in features 47sp/23, 47g/24 and 47s/30. A fibula close to 10 series V group, a distinctive variant of this type, has a crest on its bow. A number of similar fibulae are known from cemeteries of Bogaczewo Culture e.g., Koczek II, grave 128, and Ławki, grave 30, the Dollkeim/Kovrovo Culture – at Polese (former Drusker Forst), graves 19 and 65, and Wielbark Culture, at Ulkowy, grave 58. In the group of beads a more outstanding specimen is a grooved bead made of green glass, type TM159a, recorded in feature 68/41. It has no analogies on the territory of the Bogaczewo Culture but is regarded as a type characteristic for the Przeworsk Culture. A single dress pin, discovered at Leśniewo in feature 49/19, corresponds to type I of B. Beckmann. Also interesting is a series of 12 pendants in the form of a spoked wheel, type Machary, discovered in grave A – only 20 similar ornaments are recorded on the Bogaczewo Culture territory. The majority of buckle finds from Leśniewo are a form encountered en masse on territory of the Central European Barbaricum – unipartite, with a circular frame, type AC13 – in features 5/3 and 10/5, or with a D-shaped frame, type AD1 – in features 10/5, 18/8, 39/18, 46/21 and 87/49. Next to these, in feature 75/43 there was a buckle with a round frame and pin integrated with the chape, type AC1 G. Bujack mentioned four rectangular belt mounts discovered in the same cemetery but none of these were illustrated. Elements of weaponry include mainly spearheads, three specimens, of which only one – a stray find – was illustrated; there was also a single shield boss, type J6, and a shield grip, type 5. In its plan, funerary rite and furnishings the cemetery at Leśniewo does not differ substantially from other cemeteries of the Bogaczewo Culture. Similarly as at other burial sites of this culture there were identifiable grave groups, deposition of ordinary objects and weapons in graves and a cremation burial rite. There is evidence of influence from other cultures: Przeworsk (the buckle with a round frame and pin integrated with the chape, the green grooved bead), Wielbark (fibulae type A79, 10 series V group, type A96 decorated with gold) and Dollkeim/Kovrovo (the fibula type A62). In contrast to other Bogaczewo Culture cemeteries dress pins were scarce (just one specimen was discovered here, a type seldom encountered in the grave inventories of this culture), and a longer than usual series of eye fibulae and pendants type Machary. In case of the cemetery at Leśniewo, known previously only from brief references in 19th century literature, we can try to bring it back into academic circulation basing on the archival documentation of H. Jankuhn and M. Schmiedehelm and artefacts which have survived in the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Berlin. At the same time, the comparison of line drawings of the same artefacts in both files has revealed some differences, sometimes quite substantial, which persuades us to treat this archival record with due caution.

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Cmentarzysko ciałopalne kultury bogaczewskiej w Bargłowie Dwornym, pow. augustowski

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Iwanicki P.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2022

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vol. LXXIII

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issue 73

193-233

EN

The cemetery at Bargłów Dworny is located approx. 10 km to the SW of Augustów (Fig. 1). It was reported to the State Archaeological Museum in 1937. Rescue excavations were undertaken at the site first in 1939, under the supervision of Józef Marcinak, and then in 1969 and 1972, led by Marian Kaczyński. In total, an area of more than 900 m2 was excavated, and 37 Bogaczewo Culture graves were uncovered (Fig. 2). Unfortunately, most of them were severely damaged as a result of intense agricultural works. Among the artefacts recovered during the excavations, there are several of local – limited to the Bogaczewo Culture – character as well as those typical of the entire West Balt cultural circle that deserve attention. The former group includes a triple-crested brooch of the Mazurian variant found in grave 7 (Fig. 6/7:1). It represents the second group of this fibula type, distinguished in this paper, which is characterised by a small protrusion in the upper part of the sleeve. Such specimens are found in the Bogaczewo Culture in phase C1a. The artefacts typical of the Bogaczewo Culture also include a figure-of-eight-shaped pendant of type A from grave 18B (Fig. 9:1) and two iron axes – one from grave 4B, the other a stray find (Fig. 5/4B:1, 16/03:5). These artefacts are dated to phases B2b and B2/C1. The other artefact group, of broader, West Balt character, is represented, among others, by an enamelled penannular brooch from grave 4A (Fig. 4/4A:1), two cuff bracelets of type A from the same feature (Fig. 4/4A:2.3) and a stray find of a small socketed axe (Fig. 15/02:1). The bracelets from grave 4A and the axe are dated to phase B2/C1–C1a and phase B2–B2/C1 respectively. The Bargłów Dworny cemetery also yielded isolated imports from the areas of neighbouring cultures. A G.3 type belt buckle from grave 18A (Fig. 9/18:1) is probably of Przeworsk origin; it is dated to phase B2b and B2/C1. A stray find of a green bead of type TM183 (Fig. 15/02:2) is associated with the influence of the Wielbark Culture, in which such artefacts are often encountered in graves from phase C1. The bronze necklace separators from grave 1 (Fig. 3/1:3b) come from the Dollkeim-Kovrovo Culture, in the area of which they are found in assemblages from phases B2 and B2/C1. A unique find is a fragmentarily preserved neck-ring discovered in the intermingled top layer of graves 28A and 28B (Fig. 12:1). It represents an interesting combination of Balt style (enamel decoration) with a “Germanic” form of the fastener. The scarce pottery found at the site is typical of the Bogaczewo Culture. Of note is the presence in the graves of small sherds of bowls and mugs representing the so-called tableware. It seems to be a local feature of the funeral rite, to date observed only at cemeteries of the so-called Rajgród Group. A comprehensive analysis of the artefacts allowed establishing that the excavated part of the cemetery was in use from phase B2 to phase C2 of the Roman Period.

PL

Cmentarzysko w Bargłowie Dwornym leży ok. 10 km na SW od Augustowa (Ryc. 1). Zostało ono zgłoszone do PMA w roku 1937 i było badane ratowniczo przez Józefa Marciniaka w roku 1939 i Mariana Kaczyńskiego w latach 1969 i 1972. Ogółem zbadano obszar ponad 900 m2, odkrywając 37 grobów kultury bogaczewskiej (Ryc. 2). Niestety znaczna część z nich była mocno zniszczona na skutek intensywnych prac rolnych. Spośród pozyskanych w trakcie badań zabytków na uwagę zasługuje kilka o charakterze lokalnym, ograniczonym do kultury bogaczewskiej, bądź też charakterystycznych dla całego kręgu zachodniobałtyjskiego. Do pierwszej grupy należy zapinka trójgrzebykowa odmiany mazurskiej z grobu 7 (Ryc. 6/7:1). Reprezentuje ona wyróżnioną w niniejszym opracowaniu grupę drugą tych fibul, charakteryzującą się niewielkim występem w górnej części tulei. Okazy takie występują w kulturze bogaczewskiej w stadium C1a. Do zabytków typowych dla kultury bogaczewskiej należą m.in. również wisiorek ósemkowaty typu A z grobu 18B (Ryc. 9:1) oraz dwa toporki żelazne, z grobu 4B i znaleziony luźno (Ryc. 5/4B:1, 16/03:5). Zabytki te datowane są na fazy B2b i B2/C1. Grupę drugą przedmiotów o szerszym, zachodniobałtyjskim charakterze reprezentują m.in. zapinka podkowiasta zdobiona emalią z grobu 4A (Ryc. 4/4A:1), pochodzące z tego samego zespołu dwie bransolety mankietowe typu A (Ryc. 4/4A:2.3), oraz znaleziona luźno siekierka tulejkowata (Ryc. 15/02:1). Bransolety z grobu 4A datowane są na fazę B2/C1–C1a, siekierka na fazy B2–B2/C1. Na cmentarzysku w Bargłowie Dwornym odkryto także pojedyncze importy z obszarów kultur sąsiednich. Najprawdopodobniej przeworskie pochodzenie ma sprzączka typu G.3 z grobu 18 (Ryc. 9/18:1), datowana na fazę B2b i B2/C1. Z oddziaływaniami kultury wielbarskiej wiąże się luźno znaleziony zielony paciorek typu TM183 (Ryc. 15/02:2), często spotykanego na nekropolach tej kultury w zespołach grobowych z fazy C1. Z kultury DolIkeim-Kovrovo pochodzą brązowe rozdzielacze kolii z grobu 1 (Ryc. 3/1:3b), występujące na jej terytorium w zespołach z faz B2 i B2/C1. Unikatowym znaleziskiem jest zachowany we fragmentach naszyjnik odkryty w przemieszanej warstwie stropowej grobów 28A i 28B (Ryc. 12:1). Stanowi on ciekawe połączenie stylistyki bałtyjskiej (zdobienie emalią) z „germańską” formą zapięcia. Niezbyt liczna ceramika znaleziona na cmentarzysku jest typowa dla kultury bogaczewskiej. Zwraca uwagę obecność w grobach drobnych fragmentów mis i kubków reprezentujących tzw. ceramikę stołową. Jest to, jak się wydaje, lokalna cecha obrządku pogrzebowego, obserwowana dotychczas jedynie na cmentarzyskach z tzw. skupienia rajgrodzkiego. Szczegółowa analiza zabytków pozwoliła ustalić czas użytkowania zbadanej części cmentarzyska na okres od fazy od B2 do fazy C2 okresu wpływów rzymskich.

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Nowa odmiana uzdy z wodzami łańcuchowymi z cmentarzyska kultury bogaczewskiej w Paprotkach Kolonii, stan. 1, woj. warmińsko-mazurskie

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Bitner-Wróblewska A., Karczewska M., Karczewski M.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2001

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vol. LV

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issue 55

65-86

EN

Among materials recovered to date from the cemetery of Bogaczewo Culture at Paprotki Kolonia, site 1, gm. Miłki (woj. warmińsko-mazurskie), worthy of special note is the assemblage of grave 72 which included a rich assortment of weapons, belt elements, and above all, a unique iron horse bridle with chain-link reins. The cemetery at Paprotki Kolonia, site 1, lies in the region of Mazurian Great Lakes, some 3 km SE of the village of Paprotki (Fig. 1). It occupies a slight elevation between the peatland Nietlice (former lake) and waterlogged meadows surrounding the Zielone Bagno bog. The cemetery was discovered in 1983 by L. Paderewska MA and L. Gajewski MA during the archaeological penetration of Mazurian peatlands. From 1991 the site was systematically excavated. So far some 170 cremation graves were discovered as well as the remains of a funerary pyre. It is difficult to establish accurately the number of all graves because a number of them were discovered on a secondary deposit in the fill of trenches dating to the first world war. The earliest assemblage, dated to phase A3–B1, is grave 33, which yielded a bronze pin type A acc. to B. Beckmann. The latest burials date to the Migration Period. Grave 30 contained a comb with a bell-shaped grip (phase D) while grave 1 produced a spiral ring with the coil hammered into a disc (phase E). Most burials are dated to the younger phase of the Early Roman Period and older phase of the Late Roman Period. This chronology also applies to the assemblage from grave 72, of special interest here. Grave 72 was discovered 45 cm below the line of turf. It contained a double burial – an urn containing the remains of an early adultus or early maturus female or a fragile delicately built male individual) and a pit burial of an adultus-maturus male). The pit grave was circular ca. 1 m in diameter; its SE section had been disturbed by other burials. In section grave 72 formed a regular pit with a flat bottom, its fill consisted of intensively black earth mixed with rusty-red sand. Its maximum depth was 45–47 cm. The rich assemblage recovered from grave 72 included the following finds: a horse bridle with a ring bit and chain-link reins (Fig. 6), elements of a shield (type J.7a shield-boss, rivets – fig. 7:1,6,7), a knife with a hilt and scabbard mounts (Fig. 7:2,13), ten arrow points (Fig. 8), a belt set consisting of a buckle with a double spike R. Madyda-Legutko type AG42, belt hanger and three belt-end fittings, including a type J.II1-2 acc. to K. Raddatz (Fig. 9:1–3,6,19), another belt set consisting of a belt buckle with an elongated ferrule type AG12 (Fig. 10:2), a rectangular fitting and cross-shaped fittings (Fig. 10:9). Other grave goods included two fibulae with three cross-bares, type A.96 (Fig. 10:6,7) and appliqué bosses representing an ornament of female head-dress (Fig. 10:3–5). Grave equipment included a cinerary urn with a high-set funnel neck and body of broad proportions, its greatest diameter set slightly below mid-height of the vessel (Fig. 11). The urn was fitted with a 4-segment vertical handle. Basing on the pair of fibulae type A.96 from grave 72 may be dated to phase B2/C1–C1a. Other grave goods such as the type J.7a shield-boss confirm this chronology and the belt set with the double-spiked belt buckle. The other belt buckle having a rectangular, bipartite frame and ferrule, which in the assemblage in question may represent an old fashioned form, occupies a slightly earlier chronological position. A special position in the inventory of the discussed grave is definitely occupied by the horse bridle with chain-link reins, made entirely of iron. Its unipartite mouthpiece has the form of a rod bent four times at right angles. A horse harness with such a mouthpiece and a metal throatlatch made it much easier to control the horse something important in combat. The bridle from Paprotki also features chain-link reins which consist of three elongated and three annular links. The elongated links are formed of rods polygonal in section hammered at both ends into an eye and coiled around the annular links. The elongated links are decorated centrally and at the ends with pairs of engraved lines, the eyes – with deep grooves or engraved designs in form of an arrow, diagonal grid, triangle or chevron. Fittings of the side straps of the bridle are rectangular – an iron rod was twisted into an eye around the links of the bit, its ends hammered flat into thin plates joined to the strap by a single rivet. The bridle from grave 72 at Paprotki Kolonia belongs to the sub-type of bridles with chain-link reins encountered in the Barbaricum in the Roman Period and the Migration Period. Bridles of this type have the mouthpiece made of a rod bent four times at right angles, throatlatch and rings of the bit. Fittings for attaching side straps of the bridle are T-shaped. Chain-link reins formed of elongated and annular links were almost exclusively in bronze; only the mouthpiece was iron. Several systems of classification of the discussed category of finds are proposed in literature (T. Baranowski 1973; M. Ørsnes 1993; S. Wilbers-Rost 1994). Although they differ in their methodological assumptions they arrive at basically similar divisions. The main criterion is the shape of the chain links. They may be figure-of-eight with a cylindrical or a tapering central section, the shape of joined acorns or slender elongated and flat links, broad annular links. The last type of links characterises the latest specimens of chain-link reins dated to the Early Migration Period. Chronology of the remaining types fits between phases B2 and B2/C1. The bridle from Paprotki fits the basic criteria and may be classified without difficulty the subtype of chain-link reins. It has a number of distinct features, which argue against including it in any of the variants known so far. This is mainly because of the different shape of the elongated chain links. Another element unseen in previously recorded chain-link reins is the substitution in the Paprotki bridle of hooks for attaching side thongs by fittings in the form of elongated rectangles. Furthermore, the specimen in question was made entirely of iron, something very rare in this type of elaborate horse trappings. In view of its unique features the bridle should be classified as a new variant of a chain-link reins – variant Paprotki. It presumably represents an imitation of models originating in Samland, produced locally by a master blacksmith. On Balt territory horse bridles with chain-link reins occur in concentrations chiefly in Samland with several specimens known also from Mazurian Lakeland (Fig. 12). Isolated specimens were also encountered in western Lithuania where they probably represent imports from Samland. A definite majority of horse bridles from Samland are showpieces, fitted with brass chain-link reins, while Mazurian specimens tend to be incomplete and lack metal reins. This makes the find from Paprotki even more special. The discussed assemblage from grave 72 contained yet another unique element i.e., a set of ten different arrow points. All had stems but differed in the shape of the leaf and proportions. They represent forms unknown in other areas of the Central European Barbaricum, only rarely encountered in the culture of the western Balts (Mojtyny, grave 59, Szwajcaria, barrow 15, grave 2). Among the furnishings in grave 72 at Paprotki also striking is the unusual ornament seen on the urn. In the upper part of its body, below the neck, the vessel is ornamented with four groups of diagonal and vertical lines forming stylised arrows. It would seem that such an ornament had been chosen deliberately as it immediately brings to mind the set of arrows found in that grave.

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5 Wiadomości Archeologiczne

1 Bitner-Wróblewska A.

1 Iwanicki P.

1 Jaremek A.

1 Karczewska M.

1 Karczewski M.

1 Nowakowska M.

1 Szter I.

1 Wiśniewska A.

1 2022

1 2012

1 2011

1 2010

1 2001

Zapinka typu mazurskiego z wyspy na Jeziorze Legińskim, pow. kętrzyński

Cmentarzysko z okresu wpływów rzymskich i z okresu wędrówek ludów w Kamieniu na Pojezierzu Mazurskim

Materiały z cmentarzyska w Leśniewie, pow. kętrzyński (dawne Fürstenau, Kr. Rastenburg)

Cmentarzysko ciałopalne kultury bogaczewskiej w Bargłowie Dwornym, pow. augustowski

Nowa odmiana uzdy z wodzami łańcuchowymi z cmentarzyska kultury bogaczewskiej w Paprotkach Kolonii, stan. 1, woj. warmińsko-mazurskie