Search

The paper presents three artefacts from the Migration Period collected by systematic survey at the settlement Cífer-Pác. They are the fragments of two fibulas with triangular headplate, which can be dated to the period around half of the 5th c. and the thorn of buckle probably from the same period. Analysis by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF) showed that all of them were made from the alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) with the admixture of lead (Pb), therefore from the lead brass. Together with some of the older findings, as settlement feature with silver gold-coated fibula with three knobs on the head and also recently found cemetery with the finding of fibula of type Prša-Levice, they fill up the mosaic of settlement of this site in the migration period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article publishes the solitary find of a horizontally ribbed bracelet of tin bronze which was discovered in course of the revision excavation of the Roman castellum in the cadastral area of Iža village in 1979. Its presence at the site of Leányvár is generally explained by activities associated with construction and re-constructions of the military camp from the end of the 2nd-4th century. It is probably an ornament from a destroyed burial from the final Middle Bronze Age/beginning of the Late Bronze Age or a translocated settlement find from this period. Dating of the horizontally ribbed bracelet from Iža-Leányvár to stages BC2-BD1 follows from analogous finds from burial grounds in neighbouring countries and on identical bronze bracelets in the depot of Blučina 4 in Moravia in particular. A settlement find of a casting mould documenting regional production of bronze bracelets with three horizontal ribs is also mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impulse to write this article came from the new find of a short metal dagger with unevenly rounded/trapezoidal blade base with four rivet holes. This dagger was discovered during systematic surface prospecting in the village of Cífer- Pác (Trnava district). X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF) of the surface of the dagger's material confirms that it is made of tin bronze. With regard to the chemical composition of the dagger and typologically close finds of daggers from the Bronze Age in Slovakia and adjacent territories, we can conclude that it is an artifact manufactured in the period between the end of stage BA2 and stage BB1. The article is mapping the surrounding settlement and metallurgic activities in these stages as well, but also brings new information on another previously known short dagger from Cífer (stage BA2). This, however, is -- according to ED-XFR analysis and unlike the new find of a bronze dagger -- made of copper raw material. The daggers from the village of Cífer extend our knowledge of metallurgy of non-ferrous metals and they reflect the sequence of distribution of copper -- bronze artifacts in western Slovakia in stages BA2 -- BB1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Roman-barbarian interactions along the riverine borderline of the Middle Danube Limes exhibit a wide range of forms, from peaceful contacts and trading activities to full-scale military conflicts. The direct evidence of the latter type of events represents a specific source of archaeological information—generally referred to as temporary camps. The regions of Moravia, SW Slovakia and Lower Austria currently encompass more than 30 verified Roman military field installations. The specifics of these archaeological contexts and the present unsatisfactory state of knowledge have raised the necessity of approaching the given questions with advanced techniques, not least with respect to their chronological position. Along with multiple methods and analytical procedures of relevant natural sciences (geophysics and geochemistry, archaeobotany, microstratigraphy, etc.), radiocarbon (14C) dating has also been involved in order to further establish the chronological position of temporary camps because the archaeological data provide limited possibilities in this respect. In multiple cases, the method has augmented traditional dating techniques and allowed more precise and secure establishment of the chronological position of the field camps of the Roman army. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, a cremation burial place from Roman times was disarticulated in Závod (Malacky district) during the maintenance of a pine forest with earth-moving vehicles; based on geographical data and the composition of the finds, this burial place can most probably be identified with older finds published by E. Beninger. Development-led excavation on the sites of the find provided evidence of the complete destruction of the burial place. Nevertheless, a number of finds were able to be rescued, showing the presence of imports from the territory of the Roman Empire as well as from other areas of Barbaricum. Finds from the disarticulated graves originate mainly from the 2nd century to the mid-3rd century, with some occasional finds from older, and more recent, periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents selected ensemble of graves from Germanic cremation cemetery in Sekule, which is situated in the western Slovakia near to the river Morava and close to the Austrian and Czech borders. Burying on this cemetery began approximately in the middle of the 1st century AD. However, from this earlier stage only a few graves were uncovered (e.g. grave 31/2015); most of them can be dated to the second half of the 2nd century AD (B2/C1). In these graves were found numerous objects of foreign provenience, which suggest close bonds with areas west (grave 17/2014) but mostly north to the Middle Danube region, mainly with Przeworsk culture (graves 21/2014, 37/2017 & 40/2017). Their analysis however shows that there were found not only singular objects like fibulae, jewels or other parts of clothing but also whole men and women grave units with inventory which have direct analogies at the cemeteries of Przeworsk culture. Obviously they are not merely the result of permanent cultural influences or intensive contacts but they got there together with its bearers. Together with the growing number of other kinds of findings in Middle Danube area, originating mainly in the territory of Przeworsk culture, they support more and more thesis about arrival of larger groups of migrants from the north to this area in the period of Marcomannic wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerial prospection and systematic field surveys have documented an exceptionally intensive and ex­tensive settlement in Chotín during the Roman Period. Its beginnings go back to the second half of the 1st century, when it was settled by the Germanic tribes. It continued to grow in the 2nd century, flourished in the 3rd and 4th centuries and survived until the Migration Period in the early 5th century. Farmstead struc­ture of settlements with trench fencing around residential and farm structures has been detected in some parts of the area. Traces of a Roman temporary camp of approximately 1 hectare dating to the Marcoman- nic wars have also been found there. The short distance of the settlements from the Roman borders on the Danube had a huge impact on the immediate contacts between the local population and the adjacent part of the Roman province of Pannonia. Here, in the foreground of Brigetio, an important market settle­ment was probably founded as early as in the 2nd century. It may have been this settlement that Claudius Ptolemy refers to as Kelemantia. The existence of the settlement is attested by a number of imported Ro­man goods. With 649 fragments of terra sigillata and 747 Roman coins, the settlement outnumbers all sites in the Central European Barbaricum, and documents the extremely intensive trade exchange with the neighbouring Roman territory. The Germanic settlements in Chotín are likely to have played a key role also in the distribution of Roman imports along the eastern branch of the Amber Road, which led further north to the nearer and farther regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on short metal dagger with unevenly rounded/trapezoidal blade base with four rivet holes and three preserved rivets including X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.