Trade, use, offer. The hoard of Bánov – “Skalky” (CZ)

Abstract

Hoards disappeared from the regions of the “heart” of Hallstatt Europe. As for the peripheral areas, which include Moravia, the situation was different. The elite Hallstatt hoard from Bánov – “Skalky”, Uherské Hradiště District (CZ), dating to 575–550 BCE, proves that some regions did not abandon their “old Bronze-Age habits”. The hoard is among the most exclusive set of discoveries dating to the Hallstatt Period found in the Czech Republic. Its 1.500–2.000 pieces of amber beads represent the largest individual prehistoric set of amber in the Czech Republic. In the 6th century BCE, the eastern part of what is now the Czech Republic (Moravia) was the primary transit region of the Baltic amber to the Mediterranean. Extensive barter trade took place along the route of the Amber Road. Included in the Bánov hoard were exclusive women’s jewellery items which were evidently exchanged for amber. It is a set of dragon fibulae from contemporary Slovenia. This article describes the circumstances of the discovery, offers a detailed catalogue of the findings, introduces a chronological-typological analysis of the inventory and proposes the origin of the artefacts. An analysis of the composition and origin of glass by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) and of amber by IR spectrometry was carried out in this study. Chemical analysis of glass determined the colouring agents and the composition, which points to the possible origin of the analysed items. While amber corresponds to the Baltic spectrum, analysis of the glass revealed surprising findings. Most of the beads do not correspond to the expected natron glass type but to an older mixed alkali type. Furthermore, an overview of the deposition of hoards in Moravia and the methodology of studying the deposition is presented. A model of long-distance trade on the Amber Road and its chronological background are also outlined. The authors discuss the social structure, elites, long-distance trade on trade routes north of the East Hallstatt culture region, and the assumed ceremony surrounding the creation of hoards.