La Tène Research Articles

Върховете от копия от II–I в. пр.Хр. и погребалните обреди в Северозападна България

The subject of the research are spear points which form part of the armament and accoutrement sets placed in graves. They usually consist of a sword, knife, an applique (shield boss) from a shield of iron, and clay vessels. They were used by the local Thracian population, which inhabited the territory of present-day Northwestern Bulgaria during the 2nd–1st C. BC. The sets are dated on the basis of the shape of the swords, which is characteristic for La Tene armament during LT C2: 200/180–150/120 BC and during LT D: 150/120 BC–16 AD – the creation of the Roman province Moesia. The sets are inventory from graves which show the greatest concentration of their type between the rivers Ogosta and Iskar. In the present publication the burial structures from which they originate are examined, and the burial rite which was used in their deposition. In it the information is analysed from the conducted archaeological research and the extant evidence regarding finds which have been discovered in various circumstances such as building activity, agricultural work and treasure hunter’s activities. The research model used allows the formulation of an important conclusion – two models for interment are presented: 1) cremation on a pyre and the subsequent construction of a mound above it; 2) cremation at an undisclosed location and deposition of the burned remains and armament in a pit, above which no earthen structure or mound was piled up.

'Celtoscythians': Ethnical Processes and Cultural Contacts in the Baltic-Black Sea Region (3rd Century BC — 1st Century AD)

The paper deals with the ethnocultural processes that took place in the 3rd century BC – 1st century AD on the territory of Ukraine and neighbouring lands of Central and Eastern Europe. These processes, in particular, have expressed themselves in the emergence of terms ‘Celtoscythians’ and ‘Bastarnae’. The author aims to show that ancient Greeks and Romans used these names to define barbaric population, which, was living on the territory of Scythia according to geographical concepts of those days, but had material culture and customs similar to Celtic and, to some extent, could use Celtic dialects. It is stated that the lands of present-day Ukraine were stretched across the distinct periphery of the ‘Celtic world’.A group of Celtic settlements and burials which occupied the Transcarpathian region was a rather typical sub-group of the La Tene culture, similar to those in nearby regions of Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. There are only traces of the ‘Celtic’ military raids and micro-migrations in the lands eastward of the Carpathian Mountains and they had no significant impact on the cultural situation in the region. At the turn of the eras, in the basins of Dniester and Dnipro, the new Poieneşti-Lukashevka and Zarubyntsi archaeological cultures emerged. Both combined Jastorf and La Tène traditions and local traditions. The Greek and Roman authors used the new ‘umbrella’ ethnic entities ‘Bastarnae’ and ‘Κελτοσκύθαι’. Such mixed groups of the population emerged as a result of intensifying cultural contacts between the Baltic and Pontic areas. One may pay attention to the communication route from Hellespont to the Baltic shores that Plinius the Elder described in his Naturalis Historia (NH. IV. 28). Apparently, the route following Dniester and Vistula played a significant role in exchange of prestigious artefacts, as well as ideas and technologies between various groups of population of the Northern and Eastern fringes of the Celtic world. The contact zone that formed along this route played an important role in the processes of ethnogenesis on the territory of Ukraine over the following centuries.

Differential fold interference patterns in an intracontinental orogen: Insights from superposed buckle folding in southern Jiangxi Province, South China Block

The South China Block (SCB) experienced multi-stage tectono-magmatic events during the Mesozoic, forming a broad and episodic intracontinental orogenic belt. It is controversial whether the driving force of the Mesozoic intracontinental orogeny in the SCB is related to the far-field effects of plate convergence. To better understand the driving mechanism of intracontinental orogeny, we conducted a detailed structural investigation of the Xingguo area in southern Jiangxi Province, located in the central part of the SCB. Two regional-scale buckling superposed folds were identified as the Chayuan arcuate syncline of the fold axis protruding to the north (Type 2a interference pattern) and the Xiefang syncline of the fold axis extending NW–SE (Type 1d interference pattern). Although there are differences in fold interference patterns, the Chayuan arcuate syncline and Xiefang syncline were formed by the superimposition of the Middle–Late Triassic NE–SW shortening and the Middle–Late Jurassic nearly E–W shortening. This phenomenon of the differential fold interference patterns in the same tectonic setting is determined by the difference in geometric characteristics of their initial folds. Combined with the variation of the Mesozoic paleostress field, it is considered that the Mesozoic intracontinental orogeny in the SCB is mainly controlled by the far-field stress propagation generated by plate interactions. Based on the analysis of tectonic architecture, we propose that the Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the SCB experienced a transformation from multi-plate convergence in the Triassic to Andean-type subduction in the Jurassic. This tectonic transformation finally resulted in the reactivation of the Precambrian multi-terrane collage of the SCB.

Mesolithic campsite from Nowe Miasteczko (western Poland)

Archaeological site 1 in Nowe Miasteczko has been known since the mid-1920s. It is most often associated with a La Tene period cemetery of the Gubin group of the Jastorf culture. Since September 2022, archaeological excavations have been carried out at the site in connection with an ongoing construction project. The research identified a younger Mesolithic phase of the site occupation. Recovered from the fills of archaeological features were flint artefacts, bone remains, macroscopic plant remains with accumulations of hazelnut shells (Corylus avellana), and samples for absolute dating.

Założenia rowkowe o charakterze funeralnym ze stanowiska Domasław 10/11/12 / Chrzanów 4, pow. wrocławski jako przejaw oddziaływań kulturowych

The most interesting feature discovered in Domasław’s burial ground is the ditched enclosures complex of a funeral character. The oldest complex with a ring trench was dated to the middle Bronze Age (HaA2). This custom reaches its apogee in the early Iron Age (HaC). A total of 26 chamber graves encircled by trenches, as well as another ditch without a burial probably also from this period, were discovered in the cemetery. At the end of the Early Iron Age, burial practices within the Domasław necropolis did not cease completely. The category of sepulchral features with a younger chronology should also include the rectangular, nearly quadrangular structures which appear in the La Tene period and even at a later phase using this burial ground. The Domasław burials with surrounding trenches have no analogies in the nearest regions. Excavated circular structures make the largest group of funeral ditches to the north of the Carpathian and Sudeten Mountains. The influence on the shaping of the burial rite’s material remains as recorded in the form of chamber graves which stand out for their construction and furnishing, might be also treated as an element of impact. The appearance of circular ditches within this province might be also treated as an element of southern (Hallstatt) impact. The circular ditches at this burial ground is the manifestation of these influences. The strong impact from the Hallstatt circle probably led to profound changes in the sphere of beliefs, ideas, and social stratification. The custom of surrounding graves with rectangular ditches recorded in enclaves of the La Tène culture in Poland is undoubtedly the effect of the arrival of Celtic people from the south to these areas.

The Late Triassic Longmenshan lateral foreland thrusting: New insights from geological evidence and 3-D particle discrete-element simulation

This work proposes a new lateral foreland thrusting model based on geological evidence and 3-D particle discrete-element simulation to explain the Longmenshan southeastward thrusting during the closure of the Songpan-Ganze basin. The Late Triassic NE−SW compression caused by the northward movement of the Qiangtang Block and the resulting differential shortening within the wedge-shaped Songpan-Ganze terrane produced southeastward topographic gradient. The thick sedimentary pile, driven by the horizontal tectonic force and the deviatoric stress generated from gravitational effect, and decoupled from the subducting basement by the low-strength décollement, was laterally extruded and resulted in the southeastward Longmenshan thrusting. Therefore, the Longmenshan thrust belt is a lateral foreland thrust belt of the Songpan-Ganze terrane. For the first time, 3-D particle discrete-element simulation was used for the geological study of the Longmenshan area, and it clearly reproduces the dynamical process of the Longmenshan southeastward thrusting and well predicts the Xiaojin Arcuate Zone. The particle discrete-element simulation results verify the new model and reveal that two key factors facilitate the lateral foreland thrusting: the wedge-shaped geometry that produces differential shortening and lateral topographic gradient, and the low-strength décollement that decouples the extruded sedimentary pile from the basement. The lateral foreland thrust belt, which is unique in its tectonic location and dynamic behavior, is a new kind of foreland thrust belt that is different from the pro-foreland and retro-foreland thrust belts, and it provides new insight into the tectonic evolution of collisional orogens.

The Need for Protecting, Promoting, and Managing a Quaternary Geoheritage Site: Bahluieț Valley at Costești Village (Moldavian Plateau, North-Eastern Romania)

The Bahluieț Valley at Costești village geosite has recently been studied and proposed as a geoheritage site. Previous investigations of the study area were focused on the Costești-Cier archaeological site, which is currently integrated into the National Archaeological Repertoire. In this archaeological site, different levels of populations have been studied (Eneolithic Cucuteni A, Cucuteni AB, and Horodiștea-Erbiceni Culture populations) as well as an earth wall from La Tene (8th‒10th/eleventh century BC) and a 15th‒seventeenth century AD necropolis. In the area of the present-day Costești village, Bahluieț River leaves the Suceava Plateau area (with altitudes of 350‒550 m a.s.l.) and enters the Jijia Hills (with altitudes of 50 to 200 m a.s.l.), flowing between Ulmiș Hill (306 m a.s.l., at north) and Ruginii Hill (326 m a.s.l., at the south). This valley, which is incised more than 100 m below the plateau level, suddenly becomes broader because of massive Late Pleistocene landslides that covered the former Bahluieț river floodplain and are now fossilized by fluvial deposits. During the Holocene, river incision detached paleochannels and fluvial terraces, while the landslides reactivated through retrogressive mechanisms, creating a complex landslide. A cut-off meander island hosts the Costești-Cier archaeological site, which is currently being actively eroded by the river. In the riverbank of this island, a multi-layered stratigraphy can be seen, consisting of landslide and fluvial deposits, palaeosols, and archaeological remains. The layered deposits, the complex landslide, and the fluvial processes have the potential to become one of the most representative Quaternary sites of the Moldavian Plateau and Romania. By using geomorphosite assessment, geomorphological mapping, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and concepts of geoconservation, I show (i) the importance of the geosite due to the presence of the oldest dated fossil landslide in Romania and to the landslide-fluvial-archaeological relations and (ii) the need for protection at local, regional, and national levels considering the active processes that affect the site. I propose a geoconservation strategy for management and promotion of the geoheritage site.

Palaeoecological and genetic analyses of Late Pleistocene bears in Asiatic Russia

Brown bears are one of the few large carnivore species that survived the final Pleistocene wave of extinctions, perhaps in part owing to their wide ecological plasticity, variety of forms and polyphagia. Although the brown bear has become a well‐studied system, many questions remain regarding the ecological, trophic and genetic diversity throughout their distribution. For example, knowledge about Asiatic Russian brown bears from the Late Pleistocene arctic tundra steppe, an ecosystem with no analogue in modern times, is sparse. Here we compared diets, morphometry and genetic affinities of Late Pleistocene bears based on broadly sampled subfossil remains from Asiatic Russia. Collecting sites included the Ural Mountains, the lower reaches of the Irtysh River, the upper reaches of the Ob River, the Altai Mountains of western Siberia, the Indigirka–Kolyma Lowlands and northwestern Chukotka. An extremely large bear specimen from the middle Indigirka (41 090 14C a BP) that lived in landscapes of treeless shrubs and wet meadows had a diet composed principally of large herbivorous mammals. A bear from western Chukotka (25 880 14C a BP), much smaller in size, had a diet close to that of modern brown bears. These two Late Pleistocene NE Russian brown bears may comprise a previously undiscovered, but extinct, genetic lineage. At the end of the Pleistocene (MIS 3 and MIS 2), the brown bears from the Ob River Valley and Urals lived in periglacial forest‐steppes and those from the southern Urals in conditions of periglacial steppe. Brown bears from the Ob River valley and Urals, as well as ancient Altai bears, were characterized by a varied diet, from polyphagia to vegetarianism. In living brown bears, the proportions of different dietary foods are primarily related to food availability, which depends on the geographical zone and climatic conditions. We conclude that the same was true for Late Pleistocene brown bears of NE Siberia.

Funerals During the Second Iron age: A Newly Discovered Sepulchral Ensemble Reveals Practices in Western Switzerland (Pré-Du-Stand, Geneva)

During preventive archaeological excavations at the site of Pre-du-Stand in Geneva (Switzerland) in 2015 and 2016, four cremations dating to the middle La Tene period (La Tene C2/200-150 BC) were found. This discovery sheds light on Second Iron Age societies, which remain poorly understood to this day. Analysis based on existing anthropological knowledge and funerary artefacts suggest these structures represent a female grave, two warrior graves, and a deposit of charcoal and burned human bones. On the Swiss Plateau, the beginning of the Second Iron Age (LTA2-LTC2/425-150 BC) is characterised by inhumation necropolises. Cremation, meanwhile, disappears until 150 BC, when it makes a comeback. The recent discoveries made at Pre-du-Stand push back the appearance of cremations to the La Tene C2 period around 200 BC, and bear witness to the presence of two male tombs, a rare occurrence in the funerary context for this period.

The Diversity of Weaponry in La Tene Culture Burials in Poland and Comments on the Non-burial Find of a Celtic Sword in Rzeszów

The purpose of this work is to create a comprehensive summary of arms originating from Celtic warrior graves in Poland. The largest number of artefacts comes from La Tene culture cemeteries from Lower Silesia, in Sobocisko and Głownin. Individual warrior graves came from Podgaj, Smolec and Wiązow. Other examples of weaponry were found in the Kietrz cemetery in Upper Silesia, with Lesser Poland warrior graves from Iwanowice, Aleksandrowice, and Krakow-Witkowice. From Lesser Poland we also know of alleged graves from Krakow-Pleszow and Krakow-Wyciąże. Some comments about the non-burial find of a Celtic sword from Rzeszow will also be given. A fresh consideration of the source material has corrected the earlier interpretation and reinterpreted some aspects. A new detailed chronology will also be proposed. It will also present a very broad area of connections of Celts residing in Poland.

Nové nálezy kovových a skleněných předmětů z mladší doby železné na jižní Moravě. Přínos občanské spolupráce k poznání laténského osídlení na Břeclavsku

The ‘Celts Beneath the Pálava Hills’ exhibition was installed at the end of the summer of 2020 at the Regional Museum in Mikulov. The museum prepared the exhibition in cooperation with the Moravian Museum and the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno. Along with other unique exhibits, an assemblage of 70 metal artefacts stored in Dolní Dunajovice in the study collection of the Research Centre for the Roman and Great Migration periods of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, was chosen to be displayed for this event. The article presents 47 small artefacts made of copper alloys, 18 coins and five glass artefacts from 17 cadastral units, which enriched the exhibition with a variety of characteristic LT C and D1 finds. They do not form a complete collection, as their common denominator is that they were found in 2011–2017 solely by metal detectorists working together with the archaeologists from the workplace where the finds are stored. These never-before-published artefacts and the qualities of each deserve to be presented both to the public and the professional community. These artefacts include finds which, in the context of the Late Iron Age of south Moravia, are unique objects (including two bronze figurines) that are significant contributions to the clarification and differentiation of the topography of the La Tene settlement structure in the studied region.

Две фибулы из «раннесарматских» погребений Северо-Западного Причерноморья

The article analyzes the metal fibulae found in 2 burials: the first one in the burial No. 4 from the Kholmskoe cemetery and the second one in the burial No.7 from the kurgan No. 1 near to the Nikolskoe village. These burials appear in most of the generalizing works as the most ancient Sarmatian monuments of the North-Western Black Sea Region, although their exact date is still debatable. Furthermore, the researchers date the complex from the burial Kholmskoe to the different time periods such as: the beginning / first half / the end of the 1st century BC, or even later time.While the burial near to the Nikolskoe village is dated by various time intervals – from the second half of the 3rd century BC to the middle of the 2nd century BC. Acquaintance with the original fibula from the burial No. 4 of the Kholmskoe cemetery, stored in the Odessa Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, has allowed the author to identify this sample with the latest form of fibula of the Early La Tene scheme, which existed in the 2nd century BC, possibly in the second half of this century. Additionally, the fibula from the burial No.7 of the kurgan close to the Nikolskoye village should be dated within the 2nd century BC, since it belongs to the “dismembered” fibulae of the Middle La Tene scheme. It is important to highlight that both items, regardless of their narrow dating, are undoubtedly more ancient artifacts compared to the majority of fibulae of the Northern Black Sea region, marking the earliest Sarmatian monuments in the region. Sarmatian antiquities, which are synchronous to the mentioned particular artifacts are inherent only to the Volga-Don steppes and further to the east. In this regard, it is more relevant to correlate the studied complexes under consideration with the simultaneous and territorially close monuments of the Tiraspol group, reasonably associated with the Late Scythian culture.

The Mathematics of the Viereckschanzen of the La Tène Culture

The development of script-using ancient civilizations and their achievements in sciences such as astronomy and mathematics have been well researched. Illiterate cultures were able to attain an adequate level of knowledge and transferred this knowledge to succeeding generations via oral tradition and mnemonic artefacts. The constructions of the square ditched enclosures (Viereckschanzen) of the last phase of the La Tene period (LT D, 150-1 BC) are documentations of the mathematical knowledge of this culture and served as a kind of mnemonic artefact. The constructions comprise the application of Pythagorean theorem (in terms of Pythagorean triangles) and square-root approximation triangles. Via these types of triangles, convex quadrangles are constructed (i.e., trapezium, parallelogram, rectangle, kite, lozenge, and square). The constructions were laid out in the terrain on the basis of a consistent ‘Babylonian/Egyptian’ metrology.

Ancestors of domestic cats in Neolithic Central Europe: Isotopic evidence of a synanthropic diet

Cat remains from Poland dated to 4,200 to 2,300 y BCE are currently the earliest evidence for the migration of the Near Eastern cat (NE cat), the ancestor of domestic cats, into Central Europe. This early immigration preceded the known establishment of housecat populations in the region by around 3,000 y. One hypothesis assumed that NE cats followed the migration of early farmers as synanthropes. In this study, we analyze the stable isotopes in six samples of Late Neolithic NE cat bones and further 34 of the associated fauna, including the European wildcat. We approximate the diet and trophic ecology of Late Neolithic felids in a broad context of contemporary wild and domestic animals and humans. In addition, we compared the ecology of Late Neolithic NE cats with the earliest domestic cats known from the territory of Poland, dating to the Roman Period. Our results reveal that human agricultural activity during the Late Neolithic had already impacted the isotopic signature of rodents in the ecosystem. These synanthropic pests constituted a significant proportion of the NE cat's diet. Our interpretation is that Late Neolithic NE cats were opportunistic synanthropes, most probably free-living individuals (i.e., not directly relying on a human food supply). We explore niche partitioning between studied NE cats and the contemporary native European wildcats. We find only minor differences between the isotopic ecology of both these taxa. We conclude that, after the appearance of the NE cat, both felid taxa shared the ecological niches.

Скифские браслеты и кольца с выступами из могильника у села Глиное

The article examines bracelets and rings of the La-Tene style from Scythian burials of the cemetery near the Glinoe village, Slobozeya district, on the left bank of the Dniester. Bracelets were found in three burials belonging to different kurgan groups (Glinoe-“Sad”, kurgan 8, burial 5; Glinoe-“Vodovod”, kurgan 16, burial 6; Glinoe, kurgan 71, burial 1). Single rings with protrusions were found in two burials (Glinoe-“Sad”, kurgan 8, burial 2; Glinoe-“Vodovod”, kurgan 7, burial 2). Two chains of double rings and one chain of the triple rings of the La Tene style comes from burial 3 of kurgan 14 of the Glinoe-“Vodovod” cemetery. The author considers the typological attribution of these objects according to existing classification, concerns the issue of their manufacturing and dating, as well as the nature of using. Bracelets with protrusions in the form of rosettes of two, three and four ledges from the Glinoe cemetery were likely produced by lost-wax casting. Taking in account the small number of such bracelets found in the North Black Sea region, it is still difficult to draw an unambiguous conclusion about their local production. All researchers agree on the dating of such bracelets in the second half of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd centuries BC. The purpose of the items analyzed appears obvious. They were worn by women and children. The dating of rings with single, double and triple protrusions almost matches the dating of bracelets of the same type. They were common in the 4th – the beginning of 3rd centuries BC. There is data allowing to consider those bracelets have been used in complex necklaces.

Multi-analytical approach and microstructural characterisation of glasses from the Celtic oppidum of Třísov, Czech Republic, second to first centuries BC

The Late Iron Age–La Tene period in Europe outside the Hellenistic world is characterised by specific glass products in the third to first centuries BC. Evidence of glass-working together with large collections of products (bracelets, ring-beads and other beads) have been reported from several central settlements (e.g. Němcice and Stare Hradisko in Moravia, Manching in Bavaria). These products were made from soda–lime natron-based glass. Raw glass was imported from the Mediterranean and used in local workshops to make personal ornaments. This paper presents a collection of the second- to first-century BC glass from the Celtic oppidum of Třisov in southern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Its archaeology and chemistry were studied in the context of contemporary glass-making and glass-working. The methods of scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry and laser-ablation–induced coupled plasma–mass spectrometry were used for this purpose. All analysed samples of La Tene glass were found to be made of natron-based glass, comparable with glass produced in the Syro-Palestinian area. For the first time, different layers of body glass and inclusions were separately analysed in ring-beads. In yellow and also white opaque glasses, tin-based opacifiers and colourants were used. Besides typical La Tene ornaments made of natron-based glass, the analysed collection also contains three fragments of vessel made of much later wood-ash glass. As no evidence of glass-working is available from the Třisov oppidum, it is assumed that it functioned as a trading post or a distribution centre for glass products manufactured, e.g. at the Stradonice or Manching oppida. In this respect, the study provides new data on the production and distribution of La Tene glass in central Europe.

Deliberately deformed shears from Early and Middle La Tene graves in the Carpathian Basin

Shears are commonly found in La Tène burials from the Carpathian Basin. The earliest such finds known in Europe date from the early 4th century BC Mediterranean cultural milieu. Towards the end of the same century they are adopted by the La Tène communities, where their morphology and meaning in the funerary process is changing. The purpose of these tools during the burial ritual seems to be similar to the one played by the swords. This fact can be deduced from several treatments that were applied to them like: position in the grave, similar decoration as some of the weapons or deliberately mutilation of the objects.

Funerary customs of Golasecca Culture

Both M. Primas in 1970 and the Author in 1988 argued that within the Golasecca culture three cultural facies were recognizable: Como, Golasecca, Sopraceneri including Mesolcina. On the basis of the available data then it could be said that in the first two facies the exclusive funerary rite was cremation, while to the north of the Monte Ceneri gradually passed from cremation to biritualism and finally to inhumation as an exclusive funeral rite. Recently the thesis was presented that in the Golasecca facies also inhumation tombs were present. According to Gambari, two pit tombs of the necropolis of Pombia, the t. 12/1995 and the t. 15/1995, would be interpreted as childhood or adolescence inhumation graves. In the complete absence of skeletal remains, the hypothesis was formulated solely on the basis of the pit size, which was not exceptional. According to Grassi and Mangani four pit tombs of the necropolis of Monsorino di Golasecca would always be inhumations exclusively on the basis of the pit size. The Author rejects these interpretations as unfounded. First of all, in the absence of skeletal remains due to the strong acidity of the soil, two hypotheses can be taken into consideration: the inhumation or the rite of spreading the burnt bones on the bottom of the tomb. The analysis of the grave goods indicates as likely the second hypothesis. For example in the tomb 12/1995 there is a fragment of a broken and bent pin. De-functionalization in accordance with ritual norms is characteristic of cremation tombs. In the necropolis of Pombia two tombs, the 4/1995 and the 7/1995, have a size comparable to those considered to be inhumations, but burnt bones were discovered in them, thus confirming the ritual of spreading the ashes on the bottom of the tomb. In the tomb 39 of Monsorino a beaker with a globular body and distinct neck has the ribbon handle removed with a clean cut both to the upper and lower attachment, according to a ritual norm typical of the Golasecca culture when a pot is used as a container for the burnt bones, also in the same grave the metal objects have been discovered towards one end of the pit, but if it were an inhumation tomb the bronze belt-plate should be in the center of the pit. Grassi, Mangani and Voltolini argue that the grave of the Tripod from Sesto Calende-Bellaria would have been an inhumation burial, relying on the position of the objects, moreover they believe that the tomb would have had a bottom entirely covered with wooden planks and also a covering of wooden planks and it would never have been subject to violation with removal of the slab cover and part of the grave-goods. The author presents the excavation data, some of which are still unpublished, which clearly demonstrate the violation of the tomb and the unreliability of the reconstruction proposed by Grassi, Mangani and Voltolini. Since no rest of the skeleton has been preserved, one must think of its complete dissolution due to the nature of the soil, too acidic, but this fact is denied by the preservation of animal bones in one of the cups. Furthermore, in the NE corner of the tomb the body of a small leech fibula was found, devoid of spring, and catch-plate, all deformed by thermal effect, evidently coming from the funerary pyre. The arrangement of the materials is incompatible with the hypothesis of an inhumation, in particular an iron spit was found mixed with the chains of the long pendant / breastplate. Grassi, Mangani and Voltolini believe that the incontrovertible proof of the existence of inhumation burials in the facies of Golasecca and Como are two tombs from the small necropolis of Urago d’Oglio, dated to the second half of the fifth century and attributed to the Golasecca culture. This thesis is the result of a series of macroscopic typological classification, dating and cultural background mistakes. In fact, four cremation graves can be dated to the end of the sixth century, while two inhumations date back to the La Tene B (fourth century BC) and must be attributed to the Cisalpine Gauls.

What can the dwarfs tell? On settlements and anthropomorphic statuary in La Tène Southern Moravia

Finds from two settlements in Břeclav area are presented in the paper, discussing the role of these sites in settlement structure during the La Tene period.

Skupina nejstarších laténských nálezů z oppida České Lhotice a možnosti jejich interpretace

The article is dealing with the oldest La Tene objects found in the area of the oppidum Ceske Lhotice. From the chronological evaluation of these few artefacts follows that most of them fall within the periods LT B1 and LT C1, although some of them might have survived in the following period as well. The occurrence of such a collection in the area of the oppidum gives rise to several different interpretation views, which are considered in the context of similar assemblages of finds from other oppida in Central Europe.