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Terra sigillata z cmentarzyska kultury wielbarskiej w Jartyporach na zachodnim Podlasiu

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Andrzejowski J., Przychodni A.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2008

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vol. LX

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issue 60

161-178

EN

The cemetery at Jartypory, distr. Węgrów in eastern Poland1 (Fig. 1), is one of the largest known gravefields of the Wielbark culture in right-bank Mazowsze and in Podlasie. So far, the excavated area of ca 1550 m2 yielded almost 400 graves, both inhumation and cremation, dated to phases B2/C1–C2 of the Late Roman Period; stray finds indicate that the site continued in use until the early phase of the Migration Period2. A cremation pit grave 106 (Fig. 2, 3) contained ca 50 fragments of terra sigillata, dispersed within the pit fill. They were reassembled into a bowl – H. ca 10 cm, R. 18 cm and B. 7.5 cm (Fig. 4a.b). The same grave assemblage also featured fragments of melted pale yellow glass from an undetermined vessel, sherds of locally produced hand--built pottery vessels (Fig. 5c–f), fragments of a tri-layer antler comb (Fig. 5a), and a bronze belt buckle (Fig. 5b). A small quantity of heavily burnt and very poorly preserved bones belonged to a male (?), 30–50 years old (adultus−maturus)5. Dating the assemblage is quite difficult. The only diagnostic element is a large and solid elbow handle (surviving length ca 11 cm!), presumably from a type IXA jug (Fig. 5d), datable to phase C1b–C28–16. Grave 106 partly intruded on the pits of graves 122 and 126 (Fig. 2, 3a,). Of these, grave 126 cannot be dated more closely and grave 122 is placed in phases C1b–C217. In any case, the top layer of grave 122 yielded two fragments of a terra sigillata vessel and further isolated fragments occurred in graves 102B and 107, with some stray pieces discovered in the direct neighbourhood of grave 106 (Fig. 6). It is interesting that a terra sigillata rim sherd, perhaps from the same vessel, was discovered at the bottom of the humus layer ca 22 m (!) to the west of grave 106. Since all these fragments may be refitted with the vessel from grave 106, presumably they must have become relocated from the upper layer of that grave. Grave 102B may be dated only broadly to the Late Roman Period, it is possible to define the chronology of grave 10719 reliably as phase C1b, which, at the same time, is the terminus ante quem of the burial in grave 106. All of which ultimately places grave 106 in phase C1b. The reconstruction of the terra sigillata vessel as a Drag. 37 bowl22 is beyond question. Bowls of this type prevail among finds of terra sigillata from the area of Middle European Barbaricum, in Poland they make up almost 95% of vessels determined morphologically. What is exceptional is ornamentation of the bowl from Jartypory. It includes (cf fig. 4a): 1. The raised potter’s stamp, (STA)TVT(VSF) (?), similar to the one published by W. Ludowici26 (cf fig. 7a); 2. Ovolo, Ricken-Fischer25 E28 (cf fig. 7b); 3. Bull turned right, Ricken-Fischer T119a (cf fig. 7c); 4. Deer turned left, Ricken-Fischer T82a (cf fig. 7d); 5. Lioness turned right, Ricken-Fischer T35a (cf fig. 7e); 6. Archer, Ricken-Fischer M174g (cf fig. 7f); 7. Unidentified animal turned left. Both the stamp and the surviving set of ornaments help in tracing the vessel from Jartypory to the wares of STATUTUS I from Rheinzabern, classified to group IIIb acc. to H. Bernhard27. The time of production of the bowl can be determined broadly as the second terce of the 3rd c. (AD 233–260/275). Most of the fragments of the terra sigillata bowl from Jartypory are burnt, but a few show no trace of fire or only light discolorations of its dark red slip. Combined all the bowl fragments from grave 106 comprise only 20–30% of the vessel, which must follow from the failure to recover all of the mortuary furnishings from the remains of the burnt pyre. At the same time it is hard to say whether the fact of the deposition in the grave of fragments of an incomplete vessel results from the application of the principle of pars pro toto or from other elements of the funerary ritual unclear to us at present. Finds of samian wares in the Wielbark Culture territory are exceedingly rare (Fig. 8): so far from 20 sites (including Jartypory) we have just 22–24 vessels. For comparison, the area of Przeworsk Culture has yielded not less than 395 terra sigillata vessels so far. To the list of samian wares from Wielbark Culture4 may be added also a new find from Czarnówko, distr. Lębork, grave 37345, a fragment from Warzawa-Dotrzyma46, and perhaps, also a fragment from Lubartów, distr. loco, both fragments attributed previously to Przeworsk Culture48. In the case of fragments of samian wares from Opoka, distr. Puławy50, and from Gościeradów, distr. Kraśnik51, it is possible equally well to link them with Przeworsk Culture as with Wielbark Culture. At the same time, it is necessary to remove from the list of Wielbark Culture finds the fragment from Masłomęcz, distr. Hrubieszów, grave 41754, which in reality is a sherd of a hand-built vessel of local make, and an unreliably dated and attributed fragment of terra sigillata from a southern Gaulish workshop discovered at Kopyłów, distr. Hrubieszów53. The Drag. 37 bowl from Jartypory, produced AD 233–260/275, is the latest terra sigillata find from the area of Wielbark Culture, younger than samian wares from Pfaffenhofen dated to the first and the beginning of the second terce of the 3rd c. known from a grave from Janowo30, and from a destroyed grave from Pomielin, distr. Iława31. At the same time, all the three sigillata finds come from assemblages dated reliably to phase C1b. The vessel from Jartypory is also one of very few pieces of evidence on the coming to the territory of Poland of terra sigillata from Rheinzabern produced after AD 230, noted, until recently, only on territory of Przeworsk Culture.68–70 The structure of terra sigillata finds from the area of Wielbark Culture does not show any regularity when it comes to the participation of individual workshops and gives an impression that the collection is quite random; at the same time, selection of vessels suggests that emphasis was placed on pieces of better quality. In most cases samian wares in Wielbark deposits are intact vessels from the furnishings of rich inhumations (region of Gdańsk88 [?], Gronowo, distr. Drawsko Pom., grave 1/2657, Odry, distr. Chojnice, grave 42357, Pomielin31, Weklice, distr. Elbląg, grave 20862, Malbork-Wielbark, distr. loco93) or – which is quite interesting – urns in cremation graves (Domkowo, distr. Ostróda95, Leśno, distr. Chojnice, site 196, Sadłowo, distr. Rypin33). In six cases (Ciemniewko, distr. Ciechanów58–60, Czarnówko45, Janowo30, Jartypory, Kleszewo, distr. Pułtusk, grave 150103, Warszawa-Dotrzyma46) occurred in cremation graves as burnt fragments; the remaining terra sigillata finds are from earlier discoveries, badly documented or not at all (Dębice, town of Elbląg65, Iława, distr. loco39), or from destroyed features (Gostkowo-Folsąg, distr. Toruń105, Sopot, distr. loco106). Urns from Leśno and Sadłowo are vessels from the workshop COMITIALIS SECUNDIN.AVI from Rheinzabern. A single vessel from this workshop is known from the area of Przeworsk Culture (Opatów, distr. Kłobuck98); similarly as only a single find of a late Severan complete Rheinzabern vessel (Lisów, distr. Opatów99). A context of discovery of sigillata definitely similar to the one at Jartypory was noted at Janowo and Kleszewo, and perhaps also at Ciemniewko; the grave from Czarnówko was decidedly much richer, with a bronze vessel, gold ornaments and glass gaming counters. The number of terra sigillata vessels in Wielbark Culture and the character of these finds suggests a greater importance of this category of imports as a mark of status than in case of Przeworsk Culture, perhaps due also to the smaller availability of samian wares in the Wielbark environment. At the same time, all our conclusions in this regard are seriously limited by the fact that in case of Wielbark Culture die wiederentdeckte Kultur is represented almost exclusively by cemeteries and stray finds. Nevertheless the differences in the number, dating of the influx, centres of production of terra sigillata vessel finds from the area of Wielbark and Przeworsk Culture are quite significant and – apparently – not random, even if compare only the material from graves and cemeteries.

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Uwagi o chronologii absolutnej początków młodszego okresu wpływów rzymskich w kulturze przeworskiej

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Kaczanowski P., Przychodni A.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2014

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vol. LXV

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issue 65

135-147

EN

Efforts undertaken until now to establish the dating of the end of phase B2 and the onset of the Younger Roman Period, using mainly finds from the territory of the Przeworsk culture, have at present become, to some extent, outdated. This has happened as a result of progress made in the study of the places of production of individual terra sigillata wares and the dating of the activity of workshops producing this pottery, and even more so, as a result of a significant increase in the number of source evidence. This last observation applies most of all to Przeworsk culture, now with a record of 92 closed assemblages containing terra sigillata, originating from 33 sites (Fig. 1). This is more than twice the number available at the time of the start of earlier studies addressing the absolute chronology of the phases of the Roman Period basing on terra sigillata present in grave inventories from the entire territory of the Barbaricum. New finds of terra sigillata from Przeworsk culture territory have not significantly altered the overall view of the influx of these imports, nevertheless some individual finds have come to light, originating from workshops not represented earlier in the record of terra sigillata wares in our study area. First of all, there has been a visible increase in the number of finds from the youngest wave of the influx of terra sigillata wares, produced during the 3rd century AD – mainly at Westerndorf and at Pfaffenhofen. The discoveries of terra sigillata made more recently in the Przeworsk culture territory did not bring new evidence for the chronology of the Early Roman Period. Neither did the study of this category of imports add much data useful for dating assemblages assigned to the so-called intermediate phase B2b–C1a (Fig. 1), i.e., assemblages that have their chronological position defined by artefacts found with markers of phases B2b and C1a. Terra sigillata discovered in these assemblages originates from workshops active in AD 140–170 at Lezoux (ALBUCIUS, CINNAMUS), at Rheinzabern (JANUARIUS I) or, during a slightly later period, AD 160–195 at Lubié (CASURIUS), or even in AD 175–210 at Rheinzabern. We have more data useful for determining the absolute chronology of phase C1a (Fig. 2). Only a handful of grave assemblages from this phase contain terra sigillata manufactured after AD 160, at Rheinzabern (CERIALIS II–III, CERIALIS IV, CERIALIS V, CERIALIS Towar B) or at Lubié (CASURIUS). It is notable nevertheless that the majority of these workshops, except for the workshop of CASURIUS at Lubié, continued to produce their wares over several decades, presumably, until AD 210s/220s. A similarly modest number of grave assemblages from phase C1a contain terra sigillata manufactured starting from AD 175 until 210–220 (Rheinzabern, group IIa: e.g., B.F. ATTONI; Westerndorf: COMITIALIS). A number of further grave inventories from phase C1a contain even younger wares, originating from the workshop of HELENIUS at Westerndorf, active in AD 200–230, possibly a little longer. Moreover, in the group of grave assemblages likely to date from phase C1a there are also two finds with terra sigillata produced by the potter HELENIUS who was active at Pfaffenhofen in the period AD 210–250. The largest group (more than 30 graves) are assemblages assigned to phase C1 but their dating cannot be refined further - either to phase C1a or to phase C1b (Fig. 3). Despite this they have some relevance for the dating of the origins and the time of the spread of the Younger Roman Period style. Only in a single case a grave dated broadly to phase C1, presumably its earlier segment, contained a terra sigillata vessel produced in AD 150–170 at Rheinzabern (FIRMUS I). Of the remainder nearly a half are inventories containing terra sigillata produced only between AD 175 and 210–220, some of them, even until 230. These are the wares from Rheinzabern (CERIALIS V, COMITIALIS V) and from Westerndorf (COMITIALIS). The same number of inventories dated to an unspecified segment of phase C1, contain somewhat later wares, with a dating of between AD 190/200 and 230s, and some, as late as AD 245/250 (Rheinzabern, group IIc: PRIMITIVUS I; Rheinzabern, group IIIa: JULIUS II – JULIANUS I; Westerndorf: HELENIUS). An analysis focused on the terra sigillata furnishes only limited evidence useful for establishing an absolute dating for the horizon of female graves defined as B2/C1 (Fig. 3). Their contemporaneity with phase C1a is confirmed by the inventory of the grave from Przywóz with fragments of terra sigillata produced in AD 175–210 (Rheinzabern: MAMMILIANUS), and presumably, also of grave 21a from Opatów, with a vessel datable to AD 160–210 (Rheinzabern: COMITIALIS SECUNDIN.AVI). Presumably, this would be the dating appropriate for the burial discovered recently at Morawianki containing a brooch, type A.V, 8 and casket mounts, basing on fragments of a vessel from the workshop COMITIALIS at Westerndorf, active in AD 175–220, and also for the feature 243 recorded in the settlement at Kraków-Mogiła which, next to a brooch type A.43, yielded a fragment of a terra sigillata vessel from the workshop B.F. ATTONI active in AD 175–210. A confirmation for the dating of forms characteristic for the female grave horizon B2/C1 (e.g., brooches type A.41) is supplied also by finds that have a dating based on the correlation with the events from the time of the Marcomannic Wars, e.g., those originating from the camp at Iža and those from a settlement feature in the locality Biely Kostol in western Slovakia. The extended period of activity of individual workshops producing terra sigillata makes it rather difficult to specify more closely of the relationship between finds attributed to successive chronological phases. This observation applies also to the correlation of phases C1a and C1b. The latter is represented in the investigated material by a small number of inventories (Fig. 3). They contain terra sigillata produced in AD 175–210/220 (Rheinzabern: B.F. ATTONI; Westerndorf: COMITIALIS) or AD 200–230 (Westerndorf: HELENIUS). From phase C1b comes also a number of grave finds with terra sigillata produced at Pfaffenhofen in DICANUS style, AD 230–260. Thus, terra sigillata finds confirm that artefacts recognized as typical for phase C1b were in use presumably already during the late 2nd century, or the first and the second decade of the 3rd century, contemporaneously with forms typical for phase C1a. Because, if we assume that the terra sigillata from AD 170–210/220 does not come from the final years of activity of the workshop which produced them, we have to accept that the find from Chorula confirms a surmise drawn on the basis of Roman iconography on the early appearance of some forms (in this case, shield-bosses with a hemispherical body and no collar), prior to the period of the spread of the style of phase C1b. This is shown by the sarcophagus from Via Tiburtina-Portonaccio, dating from AD 180s, with a depiction of a shield boss of a form corresponding to the find from Chorula. Drawing on the chronology of other imports, the onset of phase C2 has been accepted as coinciding with the early years of the second half of the 3rd century. Consequently, one may conclude that inventories with the youngest imports of terra sigillata, the wares of HELENIUS of Westerndorf and somewhat younger wares from Pfaffenhofen (HELENIUS, DICANUS), originate still from the final years of phase C1. These grave inventories, like the relatively abundant other wares from Pfaffenhofen discovered without a specified context, would be evidence of a much more intensive Przeworsk culture settlement during phase C1b, than might be concluded basing on the known finds of artefacts of a form recognized as markers of this phase. The number of currently known assemblages dated by terra sigillata vessels shows that, in determining the chronology of the closing stage of the Early Roman Period and the onset of the Younger Roman Period, our basis are mainly sepulchral Przeworsk culture assemblages containing this pottery. To some extent observations presented here relative to the dating of the onset and the duration of phase C1b find confirmation also in finds of assemblages with terra sigillata from the territory of the Wielbark culture. That our observations are correct is indicated also by the relatively modest number of closed assemblages containing terra sigillata from other regions of the Central European Barbaricum. In summary, we find that we have to distinguish two horizons within the early segment of the Younger Roman Period: a period when some forms, still not too numerous, characteristic for phase C1a, come into use, and a period when the style typical for this phase has become widespread. In Przeworsk culture the first of these horizons began during the third quarter of the 2nd century, although presumably not in its opening years, whereas the onset of the second horizon, proper for the Younger Roman Period, definitely ought to be dated to the last quarter of that century, most likely, its end, after the Marcomannic Wars. Less easily defined are two horizons of phase C1b: an older, partly still synchronous with phase C1a, presumably spanning the end of the 2nd century and the first two, possibly, three decades of the 3rd century, and a second horizon covering the remainder of the first half of that century. Thus, observations presented here confirm the view that the cultural change during the Roman Period did not unfold in leaps and bounds, and the periodization scheme used universally for this period reflects only a general sequence of successive stylistic changes and, as such, does not allow a closer absolute dating also of the finds which are recognized as characteristic for a particular phase. This has relevance for any attempts made to synchronize the findings from the analysis of archaeological sources with historical data, and also for the studies of the chronology of change in different areas of culture of the barbarian societies of the Roman Period.

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Charakterystyka łupki żelaznej i kloca żużlowego z doświadczalnego procesu dymarskiego

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Przychodni A., Suliga I.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2016

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vol. LXVII

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issue 67

147-173

EN

Iron bloom was obtained as a result of an ancient iron smelting process carried out in slag-pit furnaces, apparently in use during the Roman Period in the Central European Barbaricum, more notably in the territory settled by the Przeworsk Culture people. In the 1970s, prompted by the reflections of M. Radwan (1963) and by the insights gained from the study of archaeological traces of the iron smelting process found in the great centre of iron metallurgy in the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mts. in central Poland, K. Bielenin developed the concept of the free solidification process (Polish acronym PSK) to describe the process of the formation of the iron bloom and slag blocks inside the slag-pit – the underground part of the bloomery furnace. Bielenin found that iron obtained in these furnaces had to contain only a minor amount of slag, non-ferritic inclusions and non-carbonized ferritic inclusions. Only then would the iron have the right degree of malleability needed for successful forging. Archaeological studies of the Holy Cross Mts. centre of iron metallurgy have yielded a very modest amount of iron bloom finds, mostly in the form of flattened lumps, the product from the working of the bloom with hammers. Obviously, the obtained iron, a highly valued and prized resource, was taken out of the production site. What remained was the debris of the bloomery furnace slag-pits, filled to a various extent with slag, and iron making residue, so-called gromps, from the process of forging and consolidating raw iron blooms. Alternately, M. Radwan has interpreted these finds as debris from the smelting process claiming that this residue had formed in the shaft of the furnace during the iron smelting process. Given that the process of smelting iron in furnaces with a slag-pit is poorly documented in the archaeological record more comprehensive data had to be obtained from experimental studies. In Poland the first of these experiments were made in the late 1950s. Furnaces with a variously designed shaft (the above-ground structure) were used in the experiments (cf. Fig. 1, 4). Unfortunately, the product obtained tended to be a slag-iron agglomerate (Fig. 2, 3) markedly different from what is available in the archaeological record. To solve this problem the experiments were modified to employ K. Bielenin’s conception of the free solidification of slag blocks. This concept would be tested in practice only in the second decade of the 21st cent. during the experimental studies of A. Wrona made with modern replicas of a furnace referred to as type Kunów with a slag-pit canal (Fig. 6). The research findings outlined here mostly draw on results of an experimental process carried out during the 1st Bloomery Seminar held in Starachowice in October 2013. Similar results had been obtained by A. Wrona in 2012 and 2013, and during experiments carried out by a specialist team in 2013–2015. Their results help to supplement the analysis presented here. During the experiment made in 2013 a block of slag was obtained (Fig. 11) and iron bloom separated from the surface of the slag-block (Fig. 12). Weighing 3.65 kg the bloom had a ferritic structure appropriate for subsequent working. The experimental smelt had used 40.6 kg of iron ore and 50 kg of charcoal. The ore was locally obtained siderite (Fig. 7) and hematite imported from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Fig. 8), at a ratio of 1:1. The process was carried out in two stages, in an artificial blast furnace, with air injected under pressure from bag bellows (Fig. 9). During the first stage waste rock was reduced to slag and the formation of the iron bloom initiated. Next, air was allowed into the slag-pit canal of the furnace draining the iron bloom from the slag (Fig. 10). The iron bloom (Fig. 12) and the block of slag (Fig. 11) were next subjected to specialist studies. Observations of the microstructure of the bloom obtained during experiments made in Starachowice in 2013 identified a solid zone (Fig. 14) and a filigree zone (Fig. 13, 16) as well as a net-zone of iron formation (Fig. 17). The presence of these zones has been confirmed in blooms deriving from the earlier experiments of A. Wrona (Fig. 18–21). Furthermore, the study of the microstructure of the bloom helped establish that in a bloomery furnace equipped with a slag-pit the metallic iron is mostly obtained through processes of secondary reduction and disproportionation within the sponge gob of slag formed earlier near the tuyeres of the furnace. Throughout the process the iron bloom is in constant contact with liquid slag, which not only prevents the bloom from undergoing a secondary oxidation caused by air injected through the tuyeres, but also has an active part in the process of the gradual accretion of the bloom. Upon examination, the microstructure of the slag (Fig. 22–24) formed during the experiment was found to be consistent with the chemical composition and structure of ancient slag discovered in the Holy Cross Mts., except for compounds formed when Bosnian ore was used; the 0.07% content of K2O (cf. Fig. 11) in this ore led to the formation of leucite K2Al2Si6O16, identified during the microstructural analysis as black dendrites (Fig. 23). Similarly as experiments carried out in 2012–2015, the Starachowice experiment confirmed the validity of the assumptions made by K. Bielenin. Furthermore, observations made during these studies prompted a series of conclusions on the organization of the operation of a slag-pit furnace cluster, the feasibility of the use of artificial blast during the process (Fig. 9, 27) and the impact of atmospheric factors on the process flow. The results presented here prove that it is highly advisable to continue the experimental work to obtain a more detailed understanding of the stages of the iron smelting process, and to carry out these tests using local iron ores only. It was found also that the technical purity of the experimentally obtained iron is sufficient to classify this stage of product to working phase. Consequently, the procedures described in the literature as a post reductive stage should not be understood as a stage aimed on the removal of impurities but rather as a phase aimed on shaping the metal obtained in the process of reduction. It is also important to note the new data possibly of use in our studies of the bloomery process furnished since 2010 by the investigation of well-preserved bloomery fields in site (wilderness) Wykus in forest inspectorate Suchedniów, Kielce County.

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A unique fragment of a terra sigillata vessel from the Polish Carpathians

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Przychodni A., Tunia K.

Acta Archaeologica Carpathica

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2019

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vol. LIV

259-268

EN

This paper discusses a fragment of a terra sigillata vessel discovered at site no. 47 in Stronie, Limanowa district, Poland – which constitutes a unique find in the area of northern slopes of the Polish Carpathians. It was found during a field survey conducted within the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains and in the Sącz Basin. The state of preservation of this artefact is probably indicative of a settlement as opposed to a burial context, as it does not bear any traces of burning. The fragment in question probably comes from the beaker of type Drag. 30. The presence of terra sigillata finds in the Polish Carpathians, most probably indicates the contacts between the Beskidy Mountains zone and the Danubian Roman provinces during the reign of the Severan dynasty.

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Terra sigillata z cmentarzyska kultury wielbarskiej w Jartyporach na zachodnim Podlasiu

Uwagi o chronologii absolutnej początków młodszego okresu wpływów rzymskich w kulturze przeworskiej

Charakterystyka łupki żelaznej i kloca żużlowego z doświadczalnego procesu dymarskiego

A unique fragment of a terra sigillata vessel from the Polish Carpathians