Abstract
In the Bronze Age flint was still being used throughout Europe. In the early periods of that age flint continued to play an important role in the economy in many areas, as evidenced by the numerous flint mines in use at the time as well as flint tools. In the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, flint still had an important place in the economies of communities living in East Central Europe. At the same time, analysis of late flint industries suggests that some of those had no utilitarian significance. The presence of flint, especially in inhumation graves from the cemetery at Weklice (used by communities of the Wielbark culture during the Roman Period) potentially adds to the debate about its significance. The cemetery at Weklice is the one of the best-known sites from the Roman Period in Poland. The graves are mostly equipped with local finds of metals: gold, silver, copper alloys, iron and amber as well as Roman imports (glass beads, vessels: glass, copper alloys). The collections comprise over of 4000 finds, however this number may change, as excavations in 2012 and 2013 revealed 22 flint artefacts. The presence of flint materials in a Roman Period cemetery admits several possible interpretations: 1) Those may be remnants of older settlements, with graves being dug into older strata and thus some of the specimens of flint could be in their secondary filling on the site; 2) Those may be remains of flint knapping activity by the Wielbark culture community; 3) Those may have been placed in the graves deliberately by the Wielbark culture community as an instance of an older custom involving the placing of flint in graves.
Highlights
As discussed in the literature on numerous occasions, the necropolis at Weklice - for further literature confer Natuniewicz-Sekuła & Okulicz-Kozaryn (2011) - may be considered a canon archaeological site from the Roman Period - mainly due to the diversity of materials discovered at the site, not all of which come from the Wielbark culture, as shown by researches in recent years
The stratigraphic situation mentioned in the introduction made it difficult to draw clear conclusions concerning the character, the chronology of the layer beneath the graves, and the collected flint materials from the discussed layer and the Wielbark culture graves
At this stage it is difficult to recognize clearly whether the analysed material should be linked to the Wielbark culture or if the material is a remnant of older cultures
Summary
As discussed in the literature on numerous occasions, the necropolis at Weklice (see Figure 1) - for further literature confer Natuniewicz-Sekuła & Okulicz-Kozaryn (2011) - may be considered a canon archaeological site from the Roman Period - mainly due to the diversity of materials discovered at the site, not all of which come from the Wielbark culture, as shown by researches in recent years. The esker is mostly built of layers and lenses of different grades of sands and gravels, stones and boulders, and clay and numerous bands of hardpan inclusions, usually in an irregular arrangement This non-uniform substratum results in major differences in interpretations making it difficult to capture patterns in the features and layers in the field, as well as state of preservation of the human bones and other discovered artefacts (more on the geomorphology position cf Natuniewicz-Sekuła & Okulicz-Kozaryn 2011: 13-15). Exploration of various graves revealed that the layer continued below the bottom of the grave pits, changing its structure to pale, fine yellow sand mixed with small grained greyish sand with numerous small pieces of charcoal and hardpanband inclusions along the west-east axis This may be clearly seen in the hardpan found between the stratified layers, nos. During the exploration of graves, aside from the artefacts associated with the Wielbark culture discovered in the grave fills as well as directly underneath (in described layers nos. [100A] and [100B]), a collection of flint specimens discussed in this article was found
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
