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Obiekty kremacyjne z cmentarzysk kultury przeworskiej z dorzecza Liswarty z młodszego i późnego okresu wpływów rzymskich oraz wczesnej fazy okresu wędrówek ludów

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Zagórska-Telega J.
Wiadomości Archeologiczne
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2015
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vol. LXVI
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issue 66
201-246
EN
Introduction In the territory of the Przeworsk Culture throughout the entire Roman Period and in the early phase of the Migration Period there is evidence of specific changes in funeral rite. They can be seen in the introduction of new methods of disposal of the corpse and models of grave furnishings, but also in a wide array of previously little known sepulchral features now recorded in the cemeteries. The most notable change in the Younger Roman Period is the decrease in the number of urned burials deposited in pottery vessels in comparison to other forms of disposal, namely urned burials in a container made of organic material, or burials in a grave pit (K. Godłowski 1981, p. 109; R. Madyda-Legutko, J. Rodzińska-Nowak, J. Zagórska-Telega 2005, p. 184). Also on their way out are meticulously furnished burials containing sets of numerous, diverse items which now are replaced by less opulent offerings made to the dead, sometimes on the pars pro toto principle (J. Szydłowski 1974a, p. 74; K. Godłowski 1969a, p. 132–133; 1981, p. 117; J. Skowron 2005, p. 257). Simultaneously, there is an observable decline in the care taken to pick the cremated remains out of the cremation pyre, which is evidenced by small quantity of bones typically discovered in burials of this period. Also introduced in the Przeworsk Culture cemeteries during this age, new forms of sepulchral features include “layer features”, “cremation layers” and “groove features of the Żabieniec type” (K. Godłowski 1981, p. 117; J. Rodzińska-Nowak, J. Zagórska-Telega 2007, p. 269; J. Zagórska-Telega 2009, p. 265–266; 2013); they may co-occur in the same area of a burial ground, and at times form an extensive complex. All the phenomena mentioned above are well apparent in the Przeworsk Culture cemeteries in the Liswarta River basin. The settlement concentration situated in the Liswarta River basin appeared at the transition from the Early to the Younger Roman Period (Fig. 1). The earliest materials deriving from sites in this region may be dated to phase B2/C1, possibly the very end of phase B2, the youngest – to the early phase of the Migration Period, which corresponds to the period from approximately the second half of the 2nd century AD until the beginning of the 5th century. The archaeological record from the settlement concentration on the Liswarta includes a total of 120 or so archaeological sites associated with the Przeworsk Culture (M. Gedl, B. Ginter, K. Godłowski 1970, 1971; M. Fajer 2009). Of this number, research excavations were made in cemeteries at Opatów, site 1, Mokra, site 8, Rybno, site 1 (now Kłobuck-Zakrzew, site 2), Walenczów, site 10, all in Kłobuck district, and in the cemetery at Żabieniec, site 1 (now Częstochowa-Żabieniec). Most of these cemeteries were set up approximately during the same age, which means in phase B2/C1 or at the close of phase B2, only the burial ground at Żabieniec came into use during phase C2. Despite this fact, and also despite the relatively small distances between individual sites, they are far from uniform in their funeral rite. Horizontal stratigraphy, recoverable in the longer-lived cemeteries, has been used to trace changes in burial customs practiced by Przeworsk Culture communities settled in the Liswarta River basin in the Younger and the Late Roman Period, and in the early phase of the Migration Period. The record obtained from the burial grounds of the Przeworsk Culture identified on the Liswarta includes 1500 or so features. Of these, a vast majority (around 1400 features) have been interpreted as graves, which means the place of intentional deposition of the burnt remains of one or more deceased individuals, usually provided with grave goods, the whole deposited in a specially prepared grave pit. The latter was most often, although not always, situated outside the site of cremation. Features of the describe sort are the last stage of a burial ceremony which is recognizable using archaeological methods. Another category encountered in the burial grounds in the Liswarta River basin are features which are definitely related with the funeral rite although – despite the presence of a certain amount of cremated human skeletal remains within them – cannot be interpreted as “graves proper”. In this category belong groove features, layer features, cremation layers, pyre sites, and hearths. These features form clearly discernible complexes in the cemeteries. Layer features Layer features are better documented only in the cemetery at Opatów (cf. note 34). They are marked by often having an irregular, sub-rectangular outline which ranges in size from 130 × 50 cm (feature 1194; Fig. 11) to 260 × 200 cm (feature 299). The fill of the layer features is non-uniform in colour, and contains multiple charcoal intrusions, usually in the upper part of the feature (feature 299). Also encountered are large fragments of charred wood (429). A number of features contained a layer of sand, burnt to a brick red colour (feature 429, 443; Fig. 12). At Opatów, layer features are observed for the entire duration of the cemetery, with their number clearly on the increase in the youngest phase of this burial ground (Fig. 13). This is indicated by single artefacts and also by the spatial analysis. The amount of skeletal remains found in layer features is very small. Nevertheless, most of them contained burnt bones belonging to a single individual. Groove features A distinctive form associated with mortuary behaviour which is noted in all of the better preserved cemeteries in the Liswarta River basin are groove features of the Żabieniec type (K. Godłowski 1981, p. 117; J. Rodzińska-Nowak, J. Zagórska-Telega 2007, p. 269; in print; J. Zagórska-Telega 2009, p. 265–266; cf. note 4). The term “groove feature” is used to describe a regular, rectangular feature, typically 200–300 cm long and 30–40 cm wide. Usually these features are thought to have enclosed the site with funeral pyre. The cremation process over, the pyre debris, complete with the cremated grave goods and bones, was swept from the central area and deposited in a shallow ditch (groove). In the view of some researchers, the groove was also meant to aid proper circulation of air during the cremation (J. Szydłowski 1964a, p. 87; 1965, p. 442; J. Piontek 1976, p. 255). In the interpretation of K. Godłowski, the groove features are burials made at the place of cremation (K. Godłowski 1969b, p. 52; 1981, p. 117). The 24 groove features recorded in the cemeteries in the Liswarta River basin were variously preserved (cf. note 5). Some of them were identified for what they are only by re-examining the drawn documentation and the written site records. The largest number of groove features was recorded in the small necropolis at Żabieniec (13 features; Fig. 2). The fills of the groove features found in the cemeteries on the Liswarta were dark brown, dark gray, or deep black earth mixed with charcoal. On a number of occasions distinct concentrations of charcoal were observed, or large fragments of partly burnt wood, presumably belonging to the pyre debris (K. Godłowski 1965, p. 165; M. Gedl, B. Ginter, K. Godłowski 1970, p. 188). Most of the groove features enclosed an area identified as undisturbed soil, although in some of them blotches of earth burnt brick red were observed in the central part (Fig. 9) (K. Godłowski 1965, p. 165; M. Gedl, B. Ginter, K. Godłowski 1970, p. 188). The fills of groove features contained an appreciable quantity of metal objects. It is also important to note that most of the small finds were recovered from the upper levels of the groove features or from the overlying deposit, while virtually none were found in the lower levels of the fill. A particularly large accumulation of archaeological material was recorded at Żabieniec in the upper levels of groove features 30, 24W and 24E, above them and immediately next to them (in sectors XXIII and XXIV) (K. Godłowski 1969b, p. 51). Alternately, these finds could have been associated with layer feature no. 35, identified between groove features 30 and 24W. Nevertheless, it is safe to conclude that all of the features named earlier (nos. 30, 24W, 24E and 35) rested underneath a cremation layer (cf. Fig. 8). It needs to be stressed that the artefacts cannot be attributed with any confidence to either the groove features or the layer feature. The archaeological material and the analysis of grave distribution establish the dating of the groove features as between phases C1b and C2 and the early phase of the Migration Period (stadium D). Groove features contain a relatively small amount of cremated human bones, dispersed as a rule within the fill of the shallow ditch. Only in a few of them a larger quantity of bone was recorded (features 24W, 24E and 30 at Żabieniec). According to anthropological analysis, the assemblage from features 24 and 30 included bones of several individuals. Layer features and cremation layers A different category of remains observed in cemeteries on the Liswarta are layer features and cremation layers. In the past they were interpreted as sites of cremation and burial, both on the same spot (K. Godłowski 1969a, p. 123; J. Szydłowski 1964a, p. 43). Based on more recent findings they may be separated into features of a relatively small size, dug into the ground only to a small depth, defined as “layer features”, interpreted with some confidence as the remains of a single cremation, and much larger features, recognizable on the ground surface as a 10–20 cm deep cremation layer, spread over an area ranging from a few to a dozen odd square metres. Burial grounds with a compact cremation layer at times have been described as “cemeteries with layer features” (F. Pfützenreiter 1937; K. Godłowski 1969a, p. 122–123; 1981, p. 117; J. Szydłowski 1964a; A. Błażejewski 1998, p. 110; 2007, p. 21, 23; J. Schuster 2005). Some authors suggested that the repeated use of a single site, and the repeated spreading of the pyre debris, created a layer rich in charcoal, cremated bones and pottery (J. Szydłowski 1964a, p. 42–45; K. Godłowski 1969a, p. 122–123). Differently, A. Błażejewski has interpreted both the layer features and the cremation layers not as the remains of cremation performed on that site but as the result of a deliberate removal and scattering of the cremated remains away from the pyre site (A. Błażejewski 2007, p. 25). Cremation layers Except for the burial ground at Walenczów, cremation layers (cf. note 40) have been identified in most of the Przeworsk Culture cemeteries in the Liswarta River basin (Opatów, Mokra, Żabieniec, Rybno). The most recoverable and best documented are the cremation layers found in the cemetery at Opatów. These features were recorded across a large area, up to a few dozen odd square meters , and take the form of a layer of dark brown or black earth 10–20 cm thick. The entire layer is rich in charcoal fragments, lumps of fire-hardened clay, a substantial quantity of burnt human bones, as well as fragments of ceramic vessels, metal objects and lumps of melted glass. Some cremation layers contained a concentration of pottery and bone fragments. At the same time, in the lower parts of some cremation layer features larger and smaller pits filled with a deeper black deposit were found, as well as concentrations of a larger number of artefacts, described at the time of detection either as concentrations or as graves. Next to them, also confirmed are relatively small pits (about 30 cm in diameter) – the remains of posts, used presumably to strengthen the construction of the cremation pyre. Their lower levels were mostly free of artefacts. In the cemetery at Opatów cremation layers cluster in two opposite ends of the cemetery, the south-western and the eastern (Fig. 14). Similar cremation layers, definitely smaller in area, are known also from the cemetery at Rybno (cremation layer and groove features 16/1967, 18/1967) and Żabieniec (feature 35, between groove features 24 and 30). All have been dated to the closing phases of the burial grounds, i.e. phases C3–D. Anthropological analysis of the material found in the cremation layers identified the at least a few adult individuals, women and men, from different age groups, as well as children. Pyre sites Another type of feature which is associated with cremation, known in the Polish literature as ustryna, is the pyre site (cf. note 45). Usually, it has the form of a medium-sized hollow, rectilinear, rather deep, containing a deep black or a dark brown fill, often interspersed with a great quantity of charcoal. As a rule the walls and bottom of this feature have on them discoloration from high temperatures. Many pyre sites contained structural elements, e.g. a layer of stones or the remains of posts which made it possible to use the site repeatedly (H. Zoll-Adamikowa 1979, p. 50; R. Madyda-Legutko, J. Rodzińska-Nowak, J. Zagórska-Telega 2002, p. 339). Very few pyre sites have been recorded in prehistoric cemeteries and they have been given relatively little attention in literature (J. Szydłowski 1964a, p. 86–88; H. Zoll-Adamikowa 1979, p. 50; J. Woźny 2000, p. 47–58; R. Madyda-Legutko, J. Rodzińska-Nowak, J. Zagórska-Telega 2002; A. Błażejewski 2007, p. 34; B. Józefów 2008, p. 213; 2009a, p. 226–228; 2009b, p. 543–544; J. Zagórska-Telega 2009, p. 266). Recently, a more extensive discussion of these features was made by B. Józefów who, similarly as most authors, uses the term “pyre site” to describe a permanent site of cremation, one that never served as a site of burial, and as such is not a grave (B. Józefów 2008, p. 213; 2009a, p. 226–228). Eighteen features discovered in the cemeteries in the Liswarta River basin (Opatów, Mokra, Żabieniec) may be interpreted with confidence as pyre sites (cf. note 46). They are relatively large, ranging from ca. 110 × 70 cm to ca. 330 × 140 cm in size, their shape sub-rectangular. A pyre site usually includes a large quantity of charcoal, and even charred timber (Opatów feature 234; Żabieniec feature 15C; Fig. 18), on occasion, also lumps of fire hardened construction daub (Mokra feature 455). Some of these features contained moreover the remains of stone-built structures (Fig. 19) or structural timber elements, e.g., postholes (Fig. 20). In the cemeteries from the Liswarta River basin the first pyre sites are recorded in phase C1 of the Younger Roman Period, and the last in stadium D. The fill of nearly all of these features contained a relatively small quantity of burnt human bones, between 3 and 42 g, suggesting that little care was taken to retrieve the cremated remains from the pyre sites. To summarize the observations concerning the features discussed earlier, discovered in Przeworsk Culture cemeteries on the Liswarta, we have to say that all of them were associated with practices attendant on the cremation burial rite. Both the layer features and the cremation layers as well as the groove features and pyre sites, are the remains of sites where cremation was carried out, thus, their function was similar. Their variation observed during research excavations boils down in essence only to differences in size, depth and outline. Pits of larger size, observed in the case of layer features and pyre sites, originally would have been found underneath the pyre. They were dug to assist circulation of air during the cremation process (J. Szydłowski 1964a, p. 87; 1965, p. 442; J. Piontek 1976, p. 255). The same function was served presumably by the rectangular groove features surrounding the pyre. It is also notable that in cemeteries in the Liswarta River basin features associated with cremation often occur in groups. This situation was observed in the cemeteries at Opatów and at Mokra in their eastern and western parts, as well as in the smaller burial grounds, at Rybno and Żabieniec. In the two latter cremation layers were identified in the neighbourhood of groove features or above them. As already suggested in literature, the burial rite in the Przeworsk Culture evolved in the direction of only a symbolic burial, in keeping with the pars pro toto principle. On this same principle only a small part of the grave goods passed into the grave. One frequently revisited issue is what happened to the rest of the remains of the cremation and the grave goods (recently on this subject T. Makiewicz 2008; 2009 – with a list of reference literature). Some researchers were inclined to conclude that the very small quantity of cremated bone in the grave is due to their very heavy burning on the pyre (A. Niewęgłowski 1981, p. 123–124; A. Błażejewski 1998, p. 174). However, it seems that most of the cremation and the grave goods could have been left behind on the site of the cremation (K. Tackenberg 1925, p. 74; J. Szydłowski 1964a, p. 39–41; 1977a, p. 76; K. Godłowski 1969a, p. 135), and the groups of cremation features observed in the cemeteries consisting of groove features, layer features and cremation layers, are only the evidence of this “abandonning” of the pyre debris, not collected for deposition in a grave. It is hard to credit that an area of this sort, used repeatedly as the site of cremation, was at the same time regarded as a burial site. As to the origin of cremation features recorded in the cemeteries of the Przeworsk Culture people, presumably their introduction was associated with some new ideology, conceivably having an interregional range, from the sphere of eschatology. What the sources of these new beliefs were is much less clear. In an alternate interpretation the features would be a manifestation of changes in the way the burial ceremony was organized, changes presumably motivated also by religion, which involved moving the site of cremation within the confines of the burial ground. It is possible that the shift in the funeral custom had been triggered by impulses from the Roman Empire given that in provincial Roman cemeteries the remains of similar complexes of cremation features are also observed, similar to those which have been recognized, for one, in the Liswarta River basin.
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Uwagi na temat rozplanowania przestrzennego cmentarzyska w Michałowicach. Możliwości interpretacji funkcji obiektów rowkowych

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Zagórska-Telega J., Pikulski J.
Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia
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2014
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vol. 60
69-79
EN
Spatial arrangement and development of cemeteries have long attracted the interest of archaeologists. One of the questions asked was whether the cemeteries developed in a planned manner and within a fixed space or, on the contrary, did they expand successively when necessary. The excavations conducted on the Przeworsk culture cemetery at Michałowice can perhaps provide new data for this discussion. The mentioned cemetery yielded 20 groove-type features characterised by a regular, rectangular shape. All these structures were oriented according to the four cardinal directions and arranged close to each other in rows along the north-south line. Along with groove-type features, an inhumation grave and cremation burials were discovered, both within the area encompassed by the arms of the grooves and outside it, and forming no detectable clusters. Based on the hitherto studies it can be assumed that groove-type features themselves were not graves, nor were they enclosures around the burials of high-ranking individuals. Their function was rather to delimit the area where the deceased belonging to one family or clan were buried, being a kind of “family quarters”. The burials proper might have been very shallow or even put on the surface, thus being prone to damage. At the same time, the arrangement of groove-type features in Michałowice around an empty central area seems planned rather than coincidental. It is also very likely that all these features were used simultaneously and over a longer period of time.
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Excavations of multicultural site 1 at Michałowice, Czarnocin commune, Świętokrzyskie province, in the years 2008–2010

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Zagórska-Telega J., Bulas J., Pikulski J., Szczepanek A.
Recherches Archéologiques Nouvelle Serie
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2011
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vol. 3
195-225
EN
The multicultural site 1 at Michałowice has long attracted the attention of archaeologists. Since the 1950’s, artefacts attributed to the Przeworsk culture have been discovered from time to time in fields near the administrative border between the Michałowice and Ciuślice villages. This resulted in an initial, small-scale salvage excavation of the site, which revealed skeleton burials of the Lusatian culture, as well as skeleton and cremation burials attributed to the Przeworsk culture. The excavations conducted in 2008–2010 uncovered 53 archaeological features, attributed to the Trzciniec, Lusatian and Przeworsk cultures. Among the most remarkable discoveries were human and horse burials connected with the Trzciniec culture and the Early Roman Period groove-type features from the Przeworsk culture cemetery.
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Prusiek, Fst. 25, Gde. und Kr. Sanok, Woiw. Podkarpackie – das erste Gräberfeld der Bevölkerung der Przeworsk-Kultur in den polnischen Karpaten

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Madyda-Legutko R., Rodzińska-Nowak J., Zagórska-Telega J.
Recherches Archéologiques Nouvelle Serie
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2009
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vol. 1
295-309
EN
In 2004, an expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University conducted the trial researches at cremation cemetery at Prusiek, and then in the years 2005 to 2006 regular rescue excavations. There were discovered 41 objects, including 35 graves and six small pits, presumably post-holes. A majority of burials were urn graves but ash graves have also been recorded. Burials are generally characterized by a relatively wide range of equipment, including weapons, i.a. swords imported from the Roman Empire. Preliminary analysis of inventories acquired so far indicates that the Prusiek necropolis should be dates back to the turn of the Early and Younger Roman Period, another words to the decline of the B2 phase and the phase C1a (with a distinctive within it the B2/C1 horizon). Materials from the cemetery at Prusiek show clear links with the so-called eastern zone of the Przeworsk Culture.
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Uwagi o chronologii i rozwoju przestrzennym cmentarzyska kultury przeworskiej w Opatowie, stan. 1, woj. śląskie

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Madyda-Legutko R., Rodzińska-Nowak J., Zagórska-Telega J.
Wiadomości Archeologiczne
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2011
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vol. LXII
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issue 62
3-48
EN
On the turn of the Early and Younger Roman Period, i.e. during the latter half of the 2nd c. AD, a settlement micro-region took form in the basin of the Liswarta R. The area was investigated by Professor Kazimierz Godłowski from the Chair of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University (now, Institute of Archaeology) in 1956–1983 in a project of wide-scale excavation focusing mainly on the extensive cemetery at Opatów, site 1, comm. loco, distr. Kłobuck, Silesian voiv. (former Częstochowa voiv.). The site had been excavated for the first time in 1938 by two archaeologists from Cracow: Tadeusz Reyman and Stefan Nosek. For the time being the cemetery at Opatów is the largest fully investigated burial site of the Przeworsk Culture people. It owes its exceptional character to its intelligible horizontal stratigraphy, evidence on several different forms of cremation burial and also its grave inventories many of which contain Roman imports and a series of artefacts of great value in refining the chronology of the Roman Period. The cemetery continued in use over the entire period of development of the people of Przeworsk Culture in the basin of the Liswarta, i.e., some 300 years, approximately from mid-2nd century until the first decades of the 5th c. AD. To this period, corresponding to 10 generations, we can attribute some 1000 features. Horizontal stratigraphy observed at Opatów provided K. Godłowski with basic input for the study of the chronology of the Przeworsk Culture during the Younger and the Late Roman Period and the early stages of the Migration Period; the results of this research have a interregional significance. After analysing grave inventories containing relatively numerous chronologically sensitive metal objects Godłowski distinguished five phases of the cemetery. A more recent analysis of all the materials from Opatów has revealed that the majority of burials belong in the category of poorly furnished graves. More than once this has made it difficult to determine the their chronological position. Nevertheless, using input from detailed examination of selected categories e.g., Samian ware, supported with the most recent insights from analysis of the greatly increased source base, it has been possible to refine the dating of some of the burials. A new analysis made of the planigraphy of the cemetery at Opatów which took into account all the categories of finds, including pottery, as well as all the different grave forms, helped modify to some extent our understanding of the spatial development of the site and identify zones corresponding to the cemetery’s four phases. Phase I corresponds to phase C1a, including the horizon B2/C1, phase II – to phase C1b, phase III – to phase C2, and phase IV – to phases C3–D, in the system of relative chronology in Central European Barbaricum. It was observed that there is some overlapping of zone defined by the occurrence of artefact types distinctive for individual chronological phases and that, on occasion, these zones could not be separated precisely. This makes the attribution of some forms to a specific phase quite difficult. Ultimately it was established that the area of the cemetery was close in its shape to a crescent. Its oldest part is at the centre, from which area the cemetery subsequently spread out east- and southward. Archaeological material from this central area is understood to belong in phase I of the cemetery, datable to the early stage of the Younger Roman Period, i.e., phase C1a, including its distinctive horizon B2/C1. In the new system, phase I corresponds to phases I and II of K. Godłowski. Forms associated with this phase include numerous fibulae represented by a wide selection of types, both forms documenting continuity of earlier stylistic traditions of the Early Roman Period (fibulae Almgren group II, IV and V) and forms typical for the Younger Roman Period (fibulae AVI and AVII). Weapons are relatively numerous and include metal elements of shields and metal points from pole weapons. Other notable forms include a shield boss – late variant of shield bosses with a blunt spike and a relatively low collar, a shield boss with what is known as a pseudo-spike, a late conical shield boss with a high collar, and also, a U-shaped shield grip with an not clearly defined fan-shaped rivet plate. Roman imports are represented by fragments of bronze and glass vessels and fragments of Samian ware. Phase B2/C1 is apparent at Opatów in inventories of female graves. On just two occasions the lingering of forms characteristic for the Early Roman Period was observed, in graves with ‘male’ furnishings, which chronologically belong to the beginning of the Younger Roman Period. The presence of these early forms may be explained by the advanced age at death of the buried individuals. To the east and west of the central area of the cemetery it is possible to identify a zone with grave inventories containing forms characteristic for the later segment of the Younger Roman Period, attributed to phase II of the cemetery, which corresponds to most of the phase III of K. Godłowski, and to phase C1b. Small finds include numerous fibulae, Almgren group VI, weapons, e.g., swords type Folkeslunda-Zaspy of M. Biborski, and Samian ware, mainly from Westerndorf and from Pfaffenhofen, forming a visible concentration to the east of the central area of the cemetery. It is especially noteworthy that immediately to the north of the graves with Samian ware there is an observable concentration of finds with an evidently later chronological position, presumably, attributable to the final phase of the Roman Period. Moving even more to the east and south-west we come to an area which may be defined as zone III of the cemetery, synchronized with the late phase of the Late Roman Period, i.e., phase C2. This corresponds partly to phases III and IV of K. Godłowski. This part of the cemetery yielded items of weaponry such as a sword type Nydam-Kragehul, shield bosses with a hemispherical-domed top and a low waisted collar (graves 289 and 1187), shield grips with short rivet plates, points from pole weapons type XV, and in particular, type XX and XXII of P. Kaczanowski. There were no finds of spurs but a few finds of shears. There were good many finds of melted glass vessels and some glass counters. The area on the south-western and eastern margin of the cemetery represents its final phase IV – synchronized with phases C3–D in relative chronology. It corresponds to phase V of K. Godłowski. Distinctive forms include buckles with a thickened oval frame, group H of R. Madyda-Legutko, turning knives and elements of a lathe (grave 945), a bipartite ring horse-bit (above grave 459), a drinking horn terminal, group F type 2 of J. Andrzejowski, and also, an awl, type Dresden-Dobritz/Żerniki Wielkie. Weapons are represented by a handful of spear/lance points, type XVI, XXII of P. Kaczanowski, arrowheads (graves 957 and 987) and a shield grip with short and narrow rivet plates and a spur with rivets at heel band terminals (grave 322), type H of J. Ginalski, i.e., type Leuna variant D of U. Geisler. Also found in this zone are numerous fragments of partly melted glass vessels. Although the cemetery at Opatów continued in use into the early phase of the Migration Period this chronological segment is represented by only a small number of forms associated with stadium D. Some of them are not represented at all, e.g. metalwork decorated with stamp-impressed concentric rings and rosettes, characteristic for Untersiebenbrunn style, or fibulae type Prag. Nevertheless, settlement in the micro-region on the Liswarta R. apparently continued for some time, as documented by material from the nearby cemetery at Mokra. Significant results came from an analysis of the sizable pottery series secured at Opatów, both hand-built and wheel-made. It was found, e.g., that hand-built vessels with a black smoothed surface continued in use without interruption until the early phase of the Migration Period; this agrees with the results from the study of the pottery series from the Przeworsk Culture settlement at Jakuszowice. Moreover, many forms of hand-built vessels have to be recognised as long-lived: vessels with a biconical profile (group II), S-profiled jars (group V) and small basins with a rounded or a recessed base (group VI). Moreover, analysis of pottery styles revealed that the community using the cemetery could have arrived to the basin of the Liswarta from Silesia or Greater Poland, as the hand-built vessels and some features of their decoration, documented in the necropolis at Opatów find the greatest number of analogies in grave-fields discovered in the two regions. The first wheel-made vessels are recorded at Opatów during its oldest phase, in grave assemblages dated by fibulae A.II and A.V to phase B2/C1 (graves 745 and 808). This confirms the validity of the view on the relatively early appearance of wheel-made vessels in inventories of Przeworsk Culture. Vessels made using this method are present in all zones of the cemetery at Opatów, but their number visibly increases with each chronological stadium. In the cemetery at Opatów it is possible to grasp the changes taking place in the funerary rite over the entire period of its use. During phase I, i.e., on the turn of the Early and the Late Roman Period, urned burial was the dominant form. During phase II, which corresponds broadly to phase C1b, the number of urned graves becomes smaller and, with time, they are noted only sporadically. Analogical changes in the frequency of occurrence of urned graves are observed at this time on most of the territory of Przeworsk Culture. In the cemetery at Opatów the dominant form throughout is urned burial described as ‘pure’, as opposed to urned burial with the remains of the cremation pyre. In one notable case an urned burial dated to phase C1b was found under a presumed barrow mound (grave 1229). This grave was discovered at a considerable distance of c. 15 m from other features dated to the early segment of the Younger Roman Period, forming a concentration in this part of the cemetery. Another form of burial documented for the whole duration of the cemetery at Opatów was deposition of cremations in an organic container. Similar burials continued to be deposited without interruption until the time the cemetery went out of use. In this group, similarly as in case of urned graves, the dominant form is ‘pure’ burial. A new form noted during phase C1a are burials established on the site of cremation. One of its variants is burial known in literature as bustum – where the pyre is constructed over the grave pit – widespread in the Roman provinces. The cremation is deposited in an urn placed inside a relatively large pit (e.g. feature 601, 603-606-608, 631). The fill of such pits includes layers of burning and abundant charcoal fragments. Another distinctive form of feature associated with cremation in situ recorded at Opatów are ditch features, known mostly from other sites in the Liswarta basin, e.g., Żabieniec, Rybno and Mokra, and described in literature as ditch features, type Żabieniec. The cemetery at Opatów yielded both ‘classic’ rectangular ditch features as well as features with a more irregular outline and linear ditches. All the ditch features discovered at Opatów belong in phase C2 and phase C3–D. Still another characteristic feature at Opatów, noted for the first time in phase C1a, are cremation patches (‘layered features’), with an irregular outline, of a substantial depth, which usually cover an area of several sqq. metres and represent the remains of a single cremation in situ (e.g. feature 1216). The presence of cremation patches is confirmed in all the phases of the cemetery. Also found at Opatów are cremation patches, 10–20 cm in thickness, which contain a great amount of charcoal, burnt earth, burnt ceramics and fragments of metal, bone and glass objects, as well as burnt human bones, spread out over an area of several to a dozen-odd square metres. The lower levels in the cremation patches included earth which had been burnt in situ. The layered features have yielded bones belonging to several individuals. Large cremation patches are assigned to its phase IV, synchronized with phases C3–D. They were recorded at the opposite, south-western and eastern ends of the cemetery (e.g. feature 439-441, 449-454). The cremation patches are interpreted as the site of repeated cremation, made on the surface of the ground, from which – presumably – only a portion of the bone remains and grave goods was removed to be buried at some distance from the site of the cremation. This is confirmed by the presence in the graves attributed to the final stages of the cemetery at Opatów of a very small quantity of cremated bones. One more form identified at Opatów are large sunken features which presumably represent the fire-spots (Germ. Ustrine) and traces of hearths, of small size, presumably associated with poorly understood ritual practices undertaken within the cemetery. The distribution of these features suggests that each one was associated with its individual group of graves. The results of observations made in the cemetery at Opatów indicate that changes in the funerary cremation rite observed in Przeworsk Culture during the Early and Late Roman Period did not have the nature of an evolution, i.e., there was no simple temporal sequence: urned burial – pit burial – cremation patch. Changes started still at the onset of the Younger Roman Period, possibly even during late phase B2. At Opatów even during phase I there is evidence, next to urned and pit graves, of graves of type bustum and small-sized cremation patches associated with single cremations in situ. With time these processes intensify and, apparently, features associated with repeated cremation in situ, come into use. The grave inventories investigated at Opatów vary widely as to the wealth of their furnishings. In the light of the criteria accepted in literature most of these burials have modest or poor furnishings. All the same, graves which may be considered as richly furnished are present in all the phases that the cemetery at Opatów was in use. Their largest number is noted during phase I and this is consistent with the general tendency as regards the tradition of grave furnishing observed in Przeworsk Culture on the turn of the Early and Younger Roman Period. The recent extensive study of the archaeological material from the Przeworsk Culture cemetery at Opatów furnished new data on various aspects of culture of the community using this site. The dating of many categories of finds could be refined our understanding of the spatial development of the cemetery was improved. New insight was gained on the character of changes in the funerary tradition taking place within the Przeworsk Culture environment during the Younger and Late Roman Period and early phase of the Migration. Moreover, we obtained evidence on the biological condition of the community using the cemetery at Opatów and identified the main areas with which these people were in some form of contact. This data represents valuable source for continued research, both on a micro-regional scale as well as focused on issues pertinent for Central European Barbaricum at large.
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Prusiek, pow. sanocki, stan. 25. Pierwsze cmentarzysko ludności kultury przeworskiej w polskich Karpatach

51%
Madyda-Legutko R., Rodzińska-Nowak J., Zagórska-Telega J.
Wiadomości Archeologiczne
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2006
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vol. LVIII
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issue 58
394-400
EN
Infiltration during the Early Roman Period of the Carpathian zone by the people of Przeworsk Culture is well confirmed by the archaeological record from the upper course of the San river. Their presence is evidenced by a number of settlement sites identified and variously investigated in the area of interest, dating from the later phase of the Early Roman Period and early phase of the Late Roman Period (R. Madyda-Legutko 2004, fig. 3). Not all these sites exhibit features of Przeworsk Culture in its ‘pure’ form, typical for areas farther the north of the Carpathian Range. In settlements found on the upper San next to hand-built pottery characteristic for Przeworsk Culture we also find vessels which in their stylistic outlook suggest strong interaction with Dacian cultures (R. Madyda-Legutko 1996, p. 61-66). Culture elements associated with the Dacian environment penetrated to the San basin during the Early Roman Period mainly by way of the Lipica Culture, from the area of the upper Dnestr basin, zone of Przeworsk-Lipice contact (D. N. Kozak 1999), possibly, by way of Zemplin environment from eastern Slovakia (R. Madyda-Legutko 1996, p. 104). While Przeworsk Culture presence in the upper San basin during the Early Roman Period is confirmed by a number of settlement sites recently we had no evidence of cemeteries from the same area. Between the world wars a single grave was discovered at Załuż, north-east of Sanok (M. Alek¬siewicz 1958, p. 50-51; P. N. Kotowicz 2004, p. 715, 717, fig. 4h). A number of seriously deteriorated burials registered at Bachórz-Chodorówka, site 1 may have dated from the Roman Period (M. Gedl 1999, p. 40). With no evidence of cemeteries reliably dated to the Roman Period available in the Polish Carpathian zone, despite earlier studies made in the foothill zone and Beskidy Mountains, the Przeworsk gravefield at Prusiek, site 25 (distr. Sanok, woj. podkarpackie) is truly exceptional (Fig. 1). It was discovered by accident in 1980 farming activity at which time a deteriorated funerary deposit was unearthed producing eg a sword ritually bent out of shape and two points from shafted weapons. One of these has survived (Fig. 2:1) and is now in keeping of the Museum in Sanok (P. N. Kotowicz 2004, p. 717–718, fig. 5). Site 25 at Prusiek lies on a promontory between two small streams – Sanoczek and its tributary Niebieszczanka (Fig. 1). Geologically the area is a former basin-like river valley bottom with fossil abandoned river channels and intervening ridges buried by river outwash and slope sediments. The burial ground lies on one of these ridges. Sondage excavation carried out by a team from Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, in the autumn of 2004 led to the discovery of four urned cremation graves and of a number of stray finds, imaginably the remains of other no longer surviving burials. Investigation by sondage was followed by regular excavation in the summer of 2005, and area of 500 m2 was explored, uncovering 22 further features (21 graves and a pit of unknown purpose). Next to 12 variously preserved urned graves, there were two evident burials inside organic urns, two unurned graves and five burials in such a deteriorated condition that their original mortuary rite cannot be identified. Burials explored so far in general are characterised by relatively rich furnishings. Preliminary analysis of artefacts typology and chronology reveals an evident connection to the eastern zone of Przeworsk Culture (T. Dąbrowska 1973; J. Andrzejowski 1994; 2001), exemplified by eg a bronze strap-end with reduced profiling (Fig. 3:2), bronze brooch (Almgren group II/IV 3rd series – Fig. 3:1) and shield fittings – in bronze (shield grips, edge fittings) or bronze combined with iron. Elements of style typical for eastern zone of Przeworsk Culture are also evident in ceramics, eg large hand built urns with a shiny black surface and three to four (occasionally a larger number) handles, or raised beakers with an openwork foot (Fig. 4:4). Grave inventories, also ones datable to the close of phase B2 of the Early Roman Period next to hand made vessels produced wheel-made (?) ceramics, usually in fragmented condition, vessels with grey abrasive walls, frequently with evidence of cremation. Similar pottery was recorded elsewhere on the upper San (R. Madyda-Legutko 2004, p. 79; R. Madyda-Legutko, E. Pohorska-Kleja 2004; R. Madyda-Legutko, E. Pohorska-Kleja, J. Rodzińska-Nowak 2004). This sheds new light on the question of dating of the origins of wheel-made pottery in Przeworsk Culture environment suggesting also that familiarity with the potter’s wheel could have spread to Przeworsk Culture area in a somewhat different way that previously accepted (cf K. Godłowski 1985; H. Dobrzańska 1980; 1982; 1990). Basing on the preliminary analysis of their attributes all the grave inventories discovered at Prusiek may be dated to the close of the Early Roman or, possibly, the onset of the Late Roman Period ie, to phase B2, B2/C1 and presumably, C1a. The gravefield at Prusiek site 25 represents a link between funerary deposits left by Przeworsk Culture people in the lower reaches of the San and similar evidence known from the upper Tisa, eastern Slovakia, Trans-Carpathian Ukraine, north-eastern Hungary and north-western Romania (V. Budinský-Krička 1967, p. 309–310; V. Budinský-Krička, M. Lamiová-Schmiedlová 1990; M. Lamiová-Schmiedlová, P. Mačala 1991; M. Lamiová-Schmiedlová 1992, p. 75-78, fig. 2; K. Godłowski 1994, p. 72, fig. 2). This corresponds well with what the classical authors have to say about the arrival of Hasdingi, Lacringi and Victovali Vandal tribes from, as is commonly accepted, the territory within the range of Przeworsk Culture, on the Dacian borderland during the Marcomanian Wars of the early 170s AD (Cassius Dio, LXXI, 12,1; K. Godłowski 1982, pp. 48–49).
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