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Skarby wczesnośredniowiecznego Śląska w kontekście znalezisk wielkopolskich

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Butent-Stefaniak B.

Studia Lednickie

2014

vol. 13

39-48

At least 110 sites with finds of early medieval coins have been recorded so far in Silesia. These include 62 hoards, 29 graves, 22 settlements and 14 stray and undefined. Finds from Greater Poland were much more numerous, as in 2010 their number amounted to as many as 237, including about 160 hoards. The earliest Silesian finds of early medieval coins are dated to the first half of the 10thc. At the settlement in Wszemirów, 3 fragments of dirhams minted after 914 were found. The earliest find, coming from an unknown locality (Śląsk XIII), contained (apart from illegible fragments of dirhams) a small part of an English coin of Athelstan (924–939). Other deposits, containing exclusively Oriental coins are dated to after 942/3 (Śląsk XIV) and after 954 (Sośnica). West European coins are primarily German denars from the Bavarian- Swabian circle, and they appeared in assemblages dated to the 970s (Obiszów, Niemcza). Silesian hoards from the 10th c. also contained considerable numbers of Bohemian coins, cross denars, various German coins, a somewhat lower number of Danish half-bracteates, single English, Italian and French specimens, as well as Ancient Roman denars. Apart from coins, there were also ornaments and silver raw materials, sometimes blanks (usually strongly fragmented). The weight of these assemblages oscillates between c. 7 g to 1.140 g, while the average weight is c. 100–600 g. 10th c. hoards from Greater Poland represent at least 42 finds. The earliest ones appear as early as the second quarter of this century (e.g. Piwonice, Ochle, Gościejewice). Other ones are dated to the 950s and 960s. the earliest assemblages contain exclusively Oriental coins and jewellery. Earlier on in Silesia, that is, in the 950s, the first West European denars occur in deposits, apart from dirhams. Such denars come from Cologne and Bavaria (Kuźnica Czarnkowska, Grzybowo, Gwiazdowo). In somewhat later assemblages there are also Bohemian, English, Danish and Italian cross denars, Byzantine milliarenses, single Ancient Roman denars or French coins. However, the ratio of dirhams is still somewhat higher than in Silesia. Apart from coins, jewellery and silver raw materials occur, and they are less fragmented than in Silesia. The weight of Greater Poland’s deposits from this period is from c. 7 g to 15 kg of silver (Dzierżnica II), c. 200–600 g being the average range of weight.

Skarby wielkopolskie z początków państwa polskiego

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Kurnatowska Z.

Studia Lednickie

2014

vol. 13

19-26

In the 9th–11th c., hoards consisting of silver coins and ornaments chiefly occured in the Baltic zone and they are a kind of distinguishing mark of this zone against the background of other European countries. These hoards present archaeological sources which allow for the examination of various aspects of the culture and civilisation of those days. In the territory of northern Poland, especially in Pomerania, there are known hoards which are dated to as early as the 9th c., or even the 8th/9th centuries. On the other hand, in the territory of later Greater Poland, hoards mainly appear in the first half of the 10th c. They become more widespread in the second half of the 10th and in the 11th c. These hoards can be roughly divided into so-called dirham hoards and somewhat later ones, which contain Western coins. The map of the distribution of early medieval hoards in Greater Poland shows an evident concentration of such finds in the hinterland of the most important centres of the arising state of the Piasts—in the vicinity of strongholds in Giecz, Gniezno and Poznań, as well as in the hinterland of Ostrów Lednicki and Kruszwica. There are various hypotheses in scholarly literature which attempt at explaining this phenomenon. The distribution of hoards was related to the trade routes of those days. The relation of the hoards to a defined group of contemporary society was also pointed out. At that time, a group of magnates in the entourage of the duke was in the process of formation. These magnates lived in the neighbourhood of the especially significant centres of the arising state and they were believed to actively participate in the exchange of goods, especially long-distance ones. Another issue is the reason behind the deposition of hoards in the ground. Comparative studies incline the researcher to assume that artefacts made from precious metals which were deposited in the earliest of Great Poland’s hoards may have come from ceremonial exchange, or, more precisely, from gifts granted by the ruler to his men. However, another possibility must also be taken into consideration. The person who deposited the hoard was not doing this in order to temporarily secure it and to be able to extract and use it at some later time. Rather, in contrast to this, the deposition of the hoard had a completely different meaning: a non-economic and non-prestige one. It could be assumed that the deposition of the hoard was (at least in some cases) related to magical or cult activities. Such practices have been well-known since Antiquity.

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2 Studia Lednickie

1 Butent-Stefaniak B.

1 Kurnatowska Z.

2 2014

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Skarby wczesnośredniowiecznego Śląska w kontekście znalezisk wielkopolskich

Skarby wielkopolskie z początków państwa polskiego