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Wybrane groby z importami rzymskimi z cmentarzyska w Weklicach, pow. elbląski, stan. 7

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Natuniewicz-Sekuła M., Okulicz-Kozaryn J.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2007

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vol. LIX

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issue 59

45-75

EN

In archaeological literature Elbląg Heights, in the eastern reaches of Vistula River delta, have been considered for some time as an important meeting ground for different peoples settled on the Baltic Sea during the Roman Period. This was suggested by the dense network of settlements and cemeteries dating from that period and grave inventories rich in prestigious local ornaments and Roman imports. Of 20 sites clustered along the margin of the upland (Fig. 1, 2) of special interest is the Wielbark Culture cemetery at Weklice, comm. and distr. Elbląg, site 7 (former Wöklitz vel Woeklitz, Kr. Elbing). In 2006 excavation was made of more than 1900 m2. Jointly with graves identified before 1945 the investigation produced 529 features; among them, 478 cremation and inhumation burials; a large percentage of grave deposits had been destroyed still during antiquity or the modern period. The dominant form of burial was inhumation (308); of 170 cremation graves the majority were urned, with no legible traces of the grave pit; pit burials were much less common. A special feature at Weklice was that graves crowded in a relatively small area, and – except in a small number of cases – there was no legible planigraphy. Many of the inhumation graves cut into other similar deposits and were themselves similarly disturbed; many cremation graves cut into inhumation graves and there were several robber trenches both of the antique and later periods. A preliminary analysis of cemetery chronology helped distinguish six phases (I–VI) early phase B1 to C2 (possibly even C3–D1?). Inhumation burials no. 208 and 495 belong the small number of well-preserved richly furnished graves dated to phase III of the cemetery, synchronized with phase B2/C1–C1a. Grave no. 208 (Fig. 3) discovered on the S slope of an elevation, disturbed in its upper layer by later burials. Rectangular 3.6×12 m outline of the grave pit, aligned NW-SE, detected at the depth of 1.2 m, ca 20 cm above the level of the burial. Traces of an oak box coffin survived at pit bottom; originally a stela had stood in S part of the grave pit. Incomplete skeletal remains of a senilis woman: teeth, fragments of the cranium and fragments of bones of forearms. Dress fittings in their original position within the outline of the skeleton. Above the cranium in N corner of the coffin, three imported vessels. 1.2. Pair of silver brooches type A II 41 (Fig. 4:1.2). 3. Silver brooch, group A VII, series 1, similar to type A VII 201 (Fig. 4:3). 4.5. Pair of silver snake-shaped bracelets, type Blume B, similar to type Wójcik IIIBb (Fig. 4:4.5). 6.7. Pair of silver wave-shaped bracelets (Wellenarmringe) (Fig. 4:6.7). 8. Gold S-clasp, type B (Fig. 4:8). 9.10. Two gold conical beads (Fig. 4:9.10). 11. Bronze needle fragment (Fig. 4:11). 12. Gilded silver disc brooch: round silver sheet disc wrapped in gilded foil, soldered on with tin-lead solder, on gilded foil, impressed image of emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, foil with its own soldered on border of gilded foil impressed with laurel wreath pattern (Fig. 5:12.12a). 13. Bronze belt buckle with buckle plate, type similar to AG29 (Fig. 5:13). 14. Bronze strap end, group JII, possibly type JII3 (Fig. 5:14). 15. Terra sigillata bowl, Dragendorff 37, variant of profile 168,14. Handsome good quality pure dark orange glaze (Fig. 6). 16. Cantharos (discovered inside the terra sigillata bowl); green slipped with light gold glaze; on the body, three horizontal rows of barbotine (Fig. 7). 17. Bronze kettle, type E 48, fractured handle mounts: the original stylised swan’s head mount, probably soldered flush with the handle; the other – quite crude, riveted on (Fig. 8). In Central European Barbaricum finds of imported Roman disc brooches are exceedingly rare. Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus identified on the fibula from grave 208 were co-emperors in AD 161–169. Here they are shown in high detail in an official double portrait expressing the idea of Concordiae augustorum. According to the analysis of this particular composition the image could have been impressed onto the foil from an intaglio while the laurel wreath motif was impressed from a different object, presumably, a medallion. The provenance of the brooch is unknown. A small group of disc brooches ornamented with foil decorated with the image of an emperor have been traced to Roman provinces and areas across the limes. The belt buckle differs from local bronzes discovered at Weklice by its unusual olive green patina, excellent casting and perfect polish of its surface. It finds correspondence in imitations of provincial Roman buckles, type Třebusice. The strap end was cast from similarly high class copper alloy and was equally well polished. Characteristic stylistic features of the entire decorative ensemble seen on the terra sigillata bowl suggest its origin as Central Gaulish workshops centred on Lezoux active in the latter half of the AD 2nd c. as well as association with the potter Cinnamus. Finds of glazed cantharoi north of the Danube are rare. Only six specimens are known from territory of Poland. Similarity of form, ornamentation and glaze suggests that the vessel from Weklice belongs to a group of vessels produced in central Italian workshops, in Latium or northern Campania. Their time of influx to Poland was probably ca AD 150, which corresponds to the wave of influx of Central Gaulish terra sigillata. Bronze kettles type E48, variants with oblique grooves, are the most popular form recorded in Barbaricum. Their two largest concentrations are known from the Danish Islands and the Vistula delta. Provenance of E 44–49 kettles is not fully clear given the almost complete absence of these vessel finds in Roman provinces. Grave no. 495 (Fig. 9) discovered on top of the elevation; the northernmost burial in the cemetery so far. Grave pit, aligned N-S, sub-rectangular, with rounded corners. Two small pits of irregular shape in NW and SE corners of the pit (resp., pits 495b and 495a) contained stones. The central part of the grave destroyed by animal burrow. Upper layer of grave pit contained a small number of tiny burnt human bones, charcoal and 10 heavily burnt sherds. An incomplete burial of a maturus female and grave furnishings found ca 62 cm below ground level; no burnt bones found in this layer. Local ‘Barbarian’ dress elements (brooch and amber bead) discovered on a secondary deposit; in the N part of the pit in situ deposit – set of imported vessels arranged around the remains of wooden casket still retaining metal fittings. 1. Bronze brooch, type A II 41 (Fig. 10:1). 2. Bronze needle or brooch pin, two fragments (Fig. 10:2). 3. Amber disc bead, hand-polished, type TM 389 (Fig. 10:3). 4. Glass bead fragment, transparent yellow glass (Fig. 10:4). 5. 10 sherds of miniature vessel (Fig. 10:5). 6–10. Wooden casket. Traces of two sides and two fragments of lid. On underside of lid, bronze rectangular lock mount fastened to wood by 4 bronze rivets (Fig. 10:6.7a–e); 2 further bronze rivets attached to both edges of lid (Fig. 10:9.10). Under the lock mount, rectangular bronze sheet plaque (Fig. 10:8), presumably part of the lock mount covering one of the key holes. At centre of casket, bronze lock spring with double wing made of two separate rods; in the longer wing at ⅔ of its length an opening, presumably for attaching the spring to casket (Fig. 10:11). 12. Bronze saucepan, type E 142, with stamp of manufacturer TALIO.F. (Talio fecit) on the handle; tinned inside and outside on upper body (Fig. 11, 12). 13.14. Bronze ladle and strainer set, type E 161 (Fig. 13). 15.16. Two glass cups, type E188a, transparent light green glass; ornamented on body with two applied glass threads interlaced in a figure-of-eight pattern (Fig. 14). According to a new system of classification of vesselsstamped with their maker’s name the Roman bronze saucepan, type E 142, from grave 495 is classifiable to type V,4b (grouping types Eggers 139–142), specimens having a deep bowl a ring handle. The find from Weklice has only two known parallels in Poland: variant V,4c, from Łęg Piekarski, distr. Turek (phase B1c) and variant V,4b, from Żegocino, distr. Sławno (phase C1). The bronze saucepan from Weklice is one of only six specimens stamped TALIO.F known from Barbaricum and Roman provinces (Fig. 15). A craftsman by the name of Talius may have been associated with early 2nd c. AD Gaulish metalworking workshops. The bronze ladle and strainer set, type E 161, belongs to the so-called late forms which arrived to Poland by sea from the mouth of the Rhine by way of Danish Isles. Production of such sets in Gaul intensified around AD 150; similar sets may have been manufactured also in Pannonia. Outside the Empire the largest number of complete ladle and strainer sets is recorded in Scandinavia, mostly Zealand and Fyn. Taking into account the Weklice find, type E 161 forms are now represented in Poland by 23 items, complete sets or otherwise. Glass cups, type E 188, are extremely rare in Barbaricum. A pair analogous to the specimens from Weklice occurred at Linówiec, distr. Starogard Gdański, in an assemblage from phase B2/C1–C1a. The deposit of imported Roman vessels from grave 495 represents a typical Roman wine-drinking set which included a bronze bucket, cauldron or a pan, a ladle and wine-strainer set as well as a pair of metal or glass drinking vessels. The set of ornaments discovered in grave 208 – 10 local forms in the so-called ‘Wielbark baroque style’, and three items apparently imported from the Roman Empire – are of great value for refining the chronology of phase III of the cemetery at Weklice, corresponding to phase B2/C1–C1a. Especially significant are the paired silver brooches, type A II 41, and the silver crossbow brooch with a high catchplate, similar to type A VII 201. The gravefield at Weklice yielded 63 brooches which by their attributes correspond to type A II 40–41, all the variants recently distinguished by Jan Schuster (Fig. 16–19). Additionally, site produced 12 brooches less easy to fit into the typology which correspond by their parameters and details of construction both to type A II 38, and type A II 40–41 (Fig. 20). In their majority they are in bronze, but in no less than 15 cases – in silver. Different variants of type A II 40–41 brooches occurred in association with brooches of having an ‘Early Roman’ construction (type A V 126–128 – graves 250, 452, 467; type similar to A V 130 – grave 252; type A V 132 – graves 402, 434) but also others which had a ‘Late Roman’ construction (type A VII 201–202 –graves 208, 256, 342, 455; type A VI 161/162 – graves 192, 353; type similar to A VI 167 – grave 452). This second group evidently define the younger horizon of phase III of the cemetery; other local forms also co-occurred with Early Roman and Late Roman finds. It is notable that all of type A II 40–41 specimens recorded in association with Late Roman fibulae have a relatively high catchplate, a detail characteristic for group VII brooches; this is also true of the brooch type A II 40–41 from grave 495. The large number of cases of co-occurrence at Weklice of ‘Early Roman’ and ‘Late Roman’ brooches lend weight to the proposition made in the past by Ryszard Wołągiewicz that in Wielbark Culture. Early Roman brooches continued in use until phase C1b. It is worth noting that grave assemblages no. 208 and 495 from Weklice define the later chronological sub-phase of phase B2/C1C1a with a greater affinity with the Late Roman Period which at the present stage of research cannot be specified in greater detail.

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Produkcja późnych typów bransolet wężowatych na przykładzie znalezisk z cmentarzyska w Weklicach, stan. 7, pow. elbląski

100%

Natuniewicz-Sekuła M., Strobin J.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2020

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vol. LXXI

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issue 71

161-187

EN

The subject of this study is the technology of manufacture of late forms of silver shield-headed bracelets. The analysis is based on the bracelets from the Wielbark Culture cemetery at Weklice, Elbląg County, in N Poland (Fig. 1–3). They correspond to Blume III or Wójcik IVB and V types, and appear in single- and double-spiral variants. They are dated to the beginning of the Late Roman Period. The majority of such bracelets come from cemeteries located along the shores of the former bay of the Vistula Lagoon, whose remnant is present-day Drużno Lake. In antiquity, richly ornamented snake-headed bracelets with regular, strap and multi-spiral bodies were a distinctive type of women’s accessories. They are known from the Hellenistic Period (Fig. 4). They were also manufactured in goldsmith’s workshops of the Roman Empire (Fig. 5–7). In Roman goldsmithing, they were in fashion in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE; interest declined at the beginning of the 3rd century. The technique used (forging), the similarity of shapes and the regularity of profiles indicate that matrices or dies (swages) were used in their manufacture. The best-known example of blacksmithing and goldsmithing tools used to make ornaments utilising this method is the deposit from Daorson (BIH), the former capital of Illyria (Z. Marić 1979). Similar technology was used to craft the Roman snake-bracelets and snake-rings from the jeweller’s hoard from Snettisham, Norfolk (GB), dating to the mid-2nd century CE (C. Johns 1997). It is assumed that barbarian goldsmith’s workshops used raw materials imported from the Roman Empire. So far, no traces of exploitation and processing of non-ferrous metal ores in the Roman period have been recorded in Poland, allowing a conclusion that local workshops melted down Roman imports. The share of silver in the denarii varied and generally decreased as a result of successive reforms introduced by ruling emperors. However, metallurgical analyses (Table 1) show that shield-headed bracelets were made from high-grade raw material containing about 92–97% Ag, which excludes the possibility that the alloys were created by melting coins with varied silver content, e.g. fourrées. No archaeological sources confirm that the ‘barbarians’ had the ability to refine precious metals. Therefore, the raw material probably came from scrap vessels made of alloys containing 92–97% Ag. Given the enormous practical knowledge of goldsmiths of that time, the metal they had available was probably selected with respect to alloy composition. Raw material could also have been obtained by importing bars containing 94–95% Ag; however, such finds (known mainly from the frontier areas of the Roman Empire) date only to the 3rd and 4th century (K. Painter 1981). The fragments of cups discovered at the cemetery of the Wielbark Culture in Czarnówko, Lębork County, are an indication that high-grade silver from Roman vessels was used in Pomerania in the Roman Period. Metallurgical analyses show that they were made of alloys containing 96–99% Ag (J. Schuster 2018). In recreating the technology of manufacture of the bracelets in question, we also used our own observations concerning the assessment of alloy quality. Raw material was forged into long strips (up to 25 cm in length in the case of single-spiral forms, and up to 50 cm in length in the case of double-spiral forms) on which delamination and chipping could occur. They were the result of both the heterogeneity of silver and errors made during forging and are often still visible on final products (Fig. 8). This was possible due to the reduced hardness and resulting ductility of high-grade silver alloys with only a few percent of copper added. A common way of making the basic form of metal objects, both in Roman and ‘barbarian’ craftsmanship, was forging. Dies were used to create ornaments of repetitive shapes. They were usually two-piece sets (Fig. 9), with a top and bottom swage. The technique involves placing a heated rod or strip between the parts of a die and forging while shifting it until a suitable profile is obtained. Dies were basic elements of a blacksmith’s shop (Fig. 10, 11); in goldsmith’s workshops, a simplified version consisting of only the bottom swage was used. The technological properties of the alloys required the ‘cold’ forging method, during which the material changed to a fine-crystalline structure and hardened. The workpiece was occasionally soaked to recrystallise and plasticise the alloy. The use of this technology in barbarian metalwork is confirmed by the find of an anvil with ‘nail headers’ from Vimose on the island of Funen (DK), with a negative impression of a profile for forging on its underside (Fig. 12, 13). The bows of the Weklice bracelets were also forged in the manner described. Based on precise measurements, it can even be assumed that almost identical forming swages, with a negative impression of the design of approx. 10.5 mm in width, were used. Slight differences in shape may result from the finishing treatment of an already forged bracelet (Fig. 14). Creation of a shield-headed bracelet was time-consuming work, requiring a lot of knowledge and skill. First, a silver bar was cast, which was then forged into a long strip. Forging a semi-finished product in a swage required the involvement of two people and excellent work organisation. The use of a metal stamp, shaped in the outline of the profile on the swage, made it possible to obtain a deep relief (Fig. 15). Observation of the undersides of bases and heads of snake bracelets indicates that they were formed slightly differently. The underside of the heads shows traces of irregular impacts (Fig. 16:1–3), which indicates that these parts were made using the free forging technique. Such a bracelet creation process was applied in the reconstruction presented here, with the body forged on a swage, and the heads hammered on a wooden and lead pad (Fig. 17, 18). Forged heads of the original Weklice bracelets are irregular in shape, and even the subsequent application of engraved and punched ornaments on the face did not fully mask this asymmetry. Free forging and die forging were the initial techniques that made it possible create a certain section of a decoration. Bracelets forged in this manner have uneven face surfaces. The next step was to even and refine the body by smoothing and grinding, first with a file and then with grindstones. To smooth the surface of ornaments made of soft alloys, a flat iron burin or a small chisel with a wide, hardened blade could also be used. Traces of such treatments in the form of scratched, parallel lines are visible on the analysed examples of Weklice bracelets. The edge of a polygonal file was used to divide the heads and collars and make grooves accentuating raised ridges (Fig. 19:1.2). An ornament in the form of two main motifs made with punches, i.e. incised lines imitating a twisted or beaded wire and an alternately stippled snake-zigzag (Fig. 19, 20), was later applied on the face surfaces of the bracelets. During these operations, washers were used to prevent damage to the thin sheet metal. A tool with flat blade, a type of small chisel, was commonly used (Fig. 19:3.4). Chasers with a curved undercut in the blade and pronounced, lateral teeth, which gave a clear semi-circular imprint, were rarely used. Usually, such a punch would leave a distinct mark of fangs on the sides (Fig. 19:5). Oblique, parallel lines imitating twisted wires were made with similar punches in imitation of beaded wires. In the case of the former, a better effect was achieved using a chisel with a semi-circular notch in the blade and thickened teeth on the sides. The stamped pattern had the shape of an oblique, slightly S-shaped line (Fig. 19:6). Another variant of this ornamentation consisted of incised ridges separated with an undecorated band (Fig. 19:7). The decorative snake (zigzag) motif was made by punching regular points on alternate sides of a raised ridge (Fig. 19:8.9). The final step was polishing, giving the decoration a shine. In ancient times, gold and silver jewellery was commonly polished with semi-precious stones. Polishers made of iron were also used, providing decorations made of silver, gold and even tin alloys with a perfect shine (Fig. 21). Another method of finishing ornaments was patination. In antiquity, blackening of silver products was fashionable and was probably also used by barbarian communities. In the case of the described shield-headed bracelets with flatly displayed patterns, it was even advisable to leave the blackened depressions in the stamped ornaments, as it intensified – against the background of the polished smooth surface – the impression of the ornament’s three-dimensionality (Fig. 22). The appearance of shield-headed bracelets in the Wielbark Culture was undoubtedly the effect of contacts between the local communities and the Roman Empire. The result of these contacts was a huge transfer of technical knowledge, crafting skills and aesthetic concepts, among others. The ancient, naturalistic snake motif, fashionable and common in the 1st and 2nd century CE, was adapted and stylistically transformed into its own ‘barbarian’ design. This phenomenon intensified in the second half of the 2nd century and the early 3rd century. The bracelets from Weklice described here were probably made in a local blacksmith/goldsmith workshop to the order of elites living in the settlement clusters of the Wielbark Culture, which stretched around the shores of the then bay of the Vistula Lagoon. These workshops based their manufacturing on their own technological tradition, preferring blacksmithing techniques, including the use of dies with elaborate profiles. This phenomenon can be observed not only in the metalwork of the Wielbark Culture, but also in other Germanic societies living in the south-western regions of the Baltic Sea coast.

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Materiały krzemienne z cmentarzyska kultury wielbarskiej w Weklicach, stan. 7, pow. elbląski

100%

Natuniewicz-Sekuła M., Werra D. H.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2014

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vol. LXV

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issue 65

197-210

EN

The article reports on a group of 22 flint artefacts (Table 1, fig. 1–4) recovered in 2012 and 2013 from the fill of graves and a feature (graves nos. 586, 587, 588, 590; feature 590A – a robbery tunnel leading to grave 590), and from a layer [100A-B] underlying the bottom of the pits of the graves named above. The flint assemblage is marked by the diversity of its raw material in terms of colour, translucence and lustre (Table 1). Most specimens were struck from a local resource (Baltic erratic flint, Pomeranian flint). Flakes form the largest group, followed by, blades and flint waste. The absence of diagnostic flints and core forms prevents closer chronological determinations. The flints could be the remains of activity by prehistoric communities spanning the Final Palaeolithic through to the Early Bronze Age. A more outstanding find in the group is an endscraper struck from Baltic erratic flint recovered from layer [100B] below grave 586 (Fig. 1:8) and a side crested blade of Pomeranian flint – recovered from layer [100B] below grave 586 (Fig. 1:5). However, the chronological and cultural attribution of these finds cannot be determined basing on their metric and technological attributes. The most interesting in the presented assemblage is a retouched blade discovered in grave 588 (Fig. 1:12). Its material is Cretaceous flint (Volhynian flint?). Basing on its metric parameters, its material and the presence of trough-like retouch this piece may be assigned to Eneolithic flint working (A. Zakościelna 1996, p. 105). Similar retouched blades struck from Cretaceous flint with a stepped and trough-like retouch are known from the assemblages known from the Lublin-Volhynian, Funnel Beaker and Tripolye Cultures (A. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa 1979; J. Libera, A. Zakościelna 2006). The stratigraphic situation not understood sufficiently enough to allow more general conclusions on the character and dating of the layer containing the flints. Nevertheless, the presence of worked flints in a Roman Period cemetery suggests a number of possible interpretations: 1) the flints are residual artefacts, introduced into the fill of the Wielbark Culture graves when they were cut into an older stratigraphy; 2) the flints are part of Wielbark Culture flint working; 3) they are flint artefacts from an earlier age that were deposited intentionally in the graves by the Wielbark community.

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3 Wiadomości Archeologiczne

3 Natuniewicz-Sekuła M.

1 Okulicz-Kozaryn J.

1 Strobin J.

1 Werra D. H.

1 2020

1 2014

1 2007

Wybrane groby z importami rzymskimi z cmentarzyska w Weklicach, pow. elbląski, stan. 7

Produkcja późnych typów bransolet wężowatych na przykładzie znalezisk z cmentarzyska w Weklicach, stan. 7, pow. elbląski

Materiały krzemienne z cmentarzyska kultury wielbarskiej w Weklicach, stan. 7, pow. elbląski