Centres of metallurgy developed in areas which were rich in metal ore deposits.
Combined with the widespread demand for bronze products, this prompted closer
trade contacts between individual peoples and this, in turn, led to significant
cultural uniformity across Europe. This situation is reflected in the beliefs
and practices associated with burial rites. Cremation became increasingly popular.
This practice first appeared in the central Danube river-basin and rapidly spread
across nearly the whole of central Europe. In Poland it is connected with the
development, from about 1400 BC, of the so-called Lusatian Culture, named after
the area (Lusatia) where it was first discovered. Around the mid 7th century
BC this culture witnessed the introduction of a new metal - iron. This raw material
reached Greater Poland from the river-basin territories of the Danube and the
Rhine. Initially, the advent of iron had very little economic impact; it was
used mostly for making personal decorations rather than producing tools or weapons.
1.
Warriors [
41] used a variety of weapons in combat,
most of which were still made of bronze at the beginning of the Iron Age. A warrior
of this period would have been equipped with a bow and arrows,
a
spear [
12],
a sword
[
02],
[
03],
[
04],
worn in a leather or wooden scabbard, a pick and
an axe
[
05],
[
06],
[
07],
[
08],
[
09],
[
10],
[
11].
The warrior shown here holds a bronze sword and has an axe, consisting of a bronze
axe-head mounted on a wooden shaft, hanging from his belt. He wears a thick leather
breastplate and carries a leather shield for protection. Leather was considered
the best available material for making this type of armour as it was very tough
and difficult to pierce or cut, as opposed to far less durable shields made of
bronze. The examples shown here are replicas of finds from the Czech Republic
and Slovakia.
2. The widespread Early Bronze Age tradition of inhumation burials covered with
stone or earthen mounds was gradually replaced by the practice of cremation.
Cremated remains were placed in urns and buried in extensive, flat cemeteries
known as urnfields. These urn burials were furnished with pottery vessels and
occasionally with metal goods.
3. Lusatian Culture populations inhabiting
the Greater Poland region built forts, usually choosing naturally defended
sites, such as islands, areas of higher ground surrounded by marshes or peninsulas
projecting into lakes, rivers or waterlogged meadows. One of the most famous
defended settlements dating from this period is that of
Biskupin in
the Żnin District [
51]. This
fort was founded in around 737-738 BC. It comprised 100
houses [
52],
built end to end along a network of eleven
transverse streets [
53],
linked by
an orbital track [
54], running
the length of the stronghold's
ramparts [
55].
A
breakwater [
56]
was raised beyond these defences, impeding access to the settlement from the
lake and protecting the ramparts from wave erosion.
4. Like their Early Bronze Age counterparts, Lusatian Culture communities also
frequently buried valuable
hoards [
01]. Several dozen
deposits of this kind have been found in Greater Poland alone, the majority dating
from the end of the Bronze Age. Jewellery and tools were the most common components
of these hoards, which also occasionally include weapons and bronze vessels.
Some of the richest hoards from this period, on display in this exhibition, are
those from Poznań-Starołęka, Rosko, Czarnków District and from U¶cikowiec, Oborniki
District.
5. Certain Neolithic traditions still survived among Lusatian Culture communities.
One example of this are the stone adzes, found at settlement sites and in graves
dating from this period.
6. In the 19th century a hoard was
found in Witaszkowo, Gubin District, which was dubbed
The Scythian Gold
Hoard. A replica of this hoard can be seen in this
exhibition. It includes
an akinakes dagger fitting [
43],
an upper fitting of the sword's sheath [
44],
a fish-shaped fitting [
45],
a
quatrefoil appliqué [
46]
which had probably belonged to a piece of armour or a shield, two
necklaces [
47],
[
48],
a whetstone ferrule [
49]
and part of a
pendant [
50].
7. Artefacts of this period include clay objects which most likely had some magical
significance. These include
rattles
[
39],
[
40]
which were probably used during funerary rituals. The life-giving sun appears
to have been worshiped, whilst
zoomorphic vessels
[
36],
[
37] made of bronze and clay also indicate the possible
existence of an animal cult. New techniques for decorating pottery were introduced
in the form of
painting
[
30],
[
31]
and
inlaying incised decoration
[
32],
[
33]
with a white lime paste.
8. Figural decoration on pottery vessels points to the fact that Lusatian Culture
populations used animals for transport purposes. Four-wheeled carts were drawn
by
a pair of oxen [
42]. The major trade routes which
crossed Poland during this period ran from east to west. Local agricultural produce,
pottery and metalwork were traded in exchange for glass and amber goods,
bronze
vessels
[
22],
[
23],
[
24]
and probably also raw materials which have not survived in the archaeological
record, such as textiles and salt. Centres dealing in long-distance trade were
established in the Greater Poland region. Evidence of their existence comes from
excavations of a settlement site in Komorowo and at a cemetery site in Gorszewice,
Szamotuły District, where numerous artefacts imported from the south were discovered.
9. Following the Early Bronze Age trend, the most popular types of jewellery
during the Lusatian Culture period were
bracelets [
17],
necklaces
[
18],
[
19], pins
and
brooches
[
20],
[
21],
the latter initially making only a sporadic appearance, though in a short space
of time they would become the most common form of dress accessory.
10. Cremation was the prevalent burial practice of this period. Bodies (probably
placed in a variety of positions - prone, seated or upright) were burned on wooden
pyres. Funeral ceremonies may have been conducted by a shaman, who would have
lit the pyre and performed a ritual dance to the accompaniment of rhythms from
the clay rattles he held in his hands. Burnt skeletal remains were placed in
an urn
[
25],
[
26],
[
27],
which stood by the funeral pyre. The urn and other
accessory
vessels
[
28],
[
29],
[
30],
[
31],
[
32],
[
33],
[
34],
[
35],
[
36],
[
37],
[
38] were then placed in the grave.
Slide show