Stray Finds Research Articles

Hidden lithic treasures. Research perspectives on museum collections of the Neolithic stone tools

Museum collections contain numerous finds that are considered low-quality data and do not attract the proper attention of researchers. The most common reason is the uncertain context of the finds or lack of other precise identification. The main aim of this paper is to increase the scientific value of so-called stray finds. The collection of the Neolithic stone tools from two museums was subjected to multifaceted analysis combined with detailed archival research. The results allowed us to address two important aspects. At the level of objects, the use of microscopic observations proved the complexity and prolonged use-life of the Neolithic tools. At the cultural level, the re-evaluation of stray finds introduces changes in the range of Neolithic settlements in SW Poland.

The Åker assemblage: Provenance and local workshop-traditions in the North Sea region in the late 6 th and early 7 th centuries

Abstract The so-called Åker assemblage, a collection of stray finds of weapon parts and warrior-related objects dating from c. AD 600, has held a prominent position in Norwegian archaeology since the discovery of the first objects on the estate of Åker in Hedmark in south-eastern Norway in the 19th century. The assemblage comprises high-status objects belonging to a warrior elite whose equipment display close similarities across the European Continent and in Anglo-Saxon England. In early research, many of the objects in the assemblage, e. g., the renowned ‘Åker buckle’ with cloisonné and zoomorphic decoration, were ascribed a Continental provenance. More recent discussions, however, advocate a Scandinavian origin for all the objects in the assemblage. Yet, the question of where the items originally were manufactured was once more actualized when further objects belonging to the assemblage were unearthed by metal detectorists in the 1990s. Among the new finds were some Frankish types of belt mounts that are unique in a Scandinavian perspective and other items with similarities to related equipment found in other regions. The new items may thus potentially shed new light on the question concerning place of origin of the assemblage. The question of provenance, however, is tied up with the phenomenon of local workshop-traditions in Scandinavia and the North Sea region. New insights have been gained on this topic during recent years as several new production sites have been explored. Through a visual assessment of the new items in the assemblage and a discussion of related parallels, it is argued here for a yet unknown western Scandinavian workshop as the most likely source for several of the objects making up the Åker assemblage.

Animal Style in Petroglyphs of the Upper Indus Valley (Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan)

The purpose of the article is to conduct a historiographical analysis of the main approaches to the problem of distribution of petroglyphs made in the animal style on the territory of the Upper Indus valley, as well as their cultural and chronological attribution. For the Early Iron Age of the Upper Indus valley, rock carvings are the main archaeological source, since there are very few studied archaeological sites belonging to this period; mostly stray finds are known. It is the animal-style petroglyphs that are an effective tool for detecting migrations. However, the issues related to the establishment of the cultural identity of the images, their dating and the ways of penetration of Central Asian peoples into the Upper Indus Valley are still unresolved. The main conceptual propositions put forward by K. Jettmar, H. Hauptman, A.-P. Frankfort, as well as their followers – L. Bruno, M. Vernier, J. V. Belezza are considered. On the basis of the published materials, sites are distinguished, on which there are images made in the animal style, their geographical location and the main motives of rock carvings are indicated. The result of the study was the assumption that the appearance of animal-style art in the Upper Indus valley is associated with a series of migration waves, both from the west and northeast (Iran, Pamir, Xinjiang) and from the east (Northern China). In the process of the penetration of a new style of rock art, local peculiarities were manifested in each area.

Три непубликувани железни меча с езичеста дръжка от Северна България

The article discusses three unpublished iron grip-tongue swords found in North Bulgaria. Two of the artifacts have been recently obtained as stray finds, probably coming from disturbed graves in the area of Palamartsa Village, Popovo Region, in Northeast Bulgaria (Обр. 1.1 and 2.1; Карта 1.1). The third blade is kept at the National Museum of History in Sofia and allegedly originates from the region of Montana, Northwest Bulgaria (Обр. 2.10; Карта 1.2). Together with another twenty-five known items these weapons form the group of the earliest iron swords in ancient Thrace (Обр. 1 and 2; Карта 1). They are dated to the first phase of the Early Iron Age (1000–750 BC) and in tandem with the spears appeared to be the principal weapon, at least according to the grave goods (cf. Карта 3). The cut-and-thrust swords have clear prototypes in the local bronze tradition (Naue II type; cf. Карта 2) and they are one of the indicators of the early adoption of iron metallurgy in Thrace south of Lower Danube. The article systematizes the available information about the swords in terms of their origin, typology and chronology. On that basis the text attempts to reveal possible aspects of the fighting skills and warfare of the local ethne.

Kulturminnelovens terskel: Klassifisering av kontekstløse ringformede spenner fra middelalder og nyere tid

The annular brooch makes up one of the most prevalent brooch types from the medieval period in Europe. Moreover, its use and production in Norway last well into the modern period. This has resulted in a quandary. The Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act labels all artefacts older than AD 1537 as state property (1650 for coins). With a few exceptions, everything younger may be acquired by the finder. But how is this to be decided for stray finds of annular brooches? How can these be dated? 
 While their morphology remains consistent throughout the almost 1000 years of production, two points of departure for future study are suggested: decorative features and alloy compositions. Charting these will provide crucial baselines. However, the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act only applying to artefacts from before AD 1537, and the division’s ramifications on cultural heritage management, continue to strain the study of enduring artefact types.

Interdisciplinary analyses of the remains from three gallery graves at Kinnekulle: tracing Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age societies in inland Southwestern Sweden

In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions.

A Late Bronze Age ‘Hoard’ and Metal Stray Finds from Tiszalök-Rázompuszta (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, Hungary)

The paper presents an uncertain Late Bronze Age (Ha B1) hoard and metal stray finds from Tiszalök (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County) that were discovered more than half a century ago, around 1952, and remained hidden for research in the private collection of László Teleki, the chief engineer of the Tiszalök hydroelectric power plant’s construction. Based on an escrow contract between the granddaughter of the late collector, Zsófia Farkasné Teleki and the Hungarian National Museum, the objects are temporarily kept in the Prehistoric Collection of the Department of Archaeology. The assemblage and stray finds were discovered at the construction site of a hydroelectric power plant on the north-eastern edge of the so-called Rázompuszta. Information on the hoard’s composition is contradictory, and it can be best reconstructed from the lists of Emília Risztics, who documented the collection on the construction site in 1952. Most of the objects—a sword, a socketed axe, a spearhead, two plano-convex ingots, and several bracelets and annular rings—that arrived at the Hungarian National Museum through the escrow contract appear in her lists and are identifiable by their dimensions and her sketches. This selection of objects suggests that the uncertain hoard in question belongs to the common category of “hoards with mixed composition”. The typo-chronological analysis of the finds dates this assemblage to the Ha B1, assigning it to the so-called Hajdúböszörmény horizon. The study provides a basic typological and technological overview of the uncertain hoard and the stray finds, with particular emphasis on ornament types not subjected to in-depth analysis. Metal finds from Tiszalök-Újtelep and Tiszalök-Vásártér are also presented in the text to add to our understanding of the local Late Bronze Age sites near Tiszalök.

Preliminary handheld XRF analysis of Late Bronze Age metal finds from the Budakeszi-Őzvölgy-tető site (Pest county, Hungary)

This study discusses the chemical analysis results of Middle and Late Bronze Age stray finds and the Late Bronze Age hoards excavated at the recently discovered Budakeszi-Őzvölgy-tető site (Pest County, Hungary). This measurement series is the second stage in the scientific evaluation of the finds, which helps to characterize the elemental composition and raw material characteristics of the A and B hoards and the stray finds. Our aim is to obtain elemental composition information on the 103 objects, which can be used to identify the main alloy types within the hoards, as well as to establish a research strategy for the further examination of the metal finds from the Őzvölgy-tető with more complex and reliable methods. A handheld XRF device was used, which provides compositional information on the surface of the objects, but its main advantage is that it enables the analysis of a large number of samples within a short time. Here, we interpret the obtained data within the limits of the applied method. Based on our results, the majority of the artifacts can be identified as Cu-Sn alloys. Pb, Sb, Ni, Zn, Ag, Fe, Co and As are the main accompanying elements of the objects’ patina from Budakeszi, their presence being indicative of the raw material and its source. The presence of certain elements at higher quantities may indicate specific technological phenomena. The high surface Pb content on the convex part of the ingots is probably due to the phenomenon of lead segregation. While the high Fe content could be interpreted as a technological defect and the result of an incomplete iron removal process during smelting. Handheld XRF measurements show a correlation between patina color and surface elemental composition in some cases (e.g., dark gray – high Pb, black – high Pb-Sb), but more typically, the same color can be associated with different elemental combinations (grayish-silver, high Pb-Sb, Pb-Sn, high Sn). Our results help to independently verify the relative dating of the hoards and the stray finds. The high Fe or Zn content, which is not typical of the Late Bronze Age, allows us to date some of the stray find lumps and one sheet of metal to the Medieval Period or Modern Ages. The high surface Sb and Pb contents observed in Late Bronze Age artifacts from Budakeszi are in good agreement with former quantitative elemental composition data from Transdanubian (e.g., Biatorbágy, Velem-Szent Vid), Austrian and Slovenian artifacts deposited in the Ha B1 period, which support the archaeological dating of the hoards and most stray finds.

New radiocarbon dates for ornamented Mesolithic objects from north-west Poland: chronology and regional connections in the western Baltic region

During the northern European Mesolithic, new types of objects were ornamented with different geometric motifs. Many examples, however, are stray finds and their dating is poorly understood. The authors present new AMS radiocarbon dates for ornamented artefacts from Pomerania that contribute to an absolute chronology of Mesolithic art and allow for new consideration of connections between cultural groups in the western Baltic region. A baton, featuring an anthropomorphic figure, dates to the end of the Boreal period; three other objects date to the early Atlantic period, revealing a combination of regional and local innovations. The results demonstrate the value of absolute dating of stray finds for refining knowledge of wider cultural trends.

Expansion and Abandonment in the South Swedish Uplands: A Study of Late Neolithic Monuments in Göteryd Parish

Abstract A distinct concentration of 150 gallery graves dating to the Late Neolithic (2400–1700 BC) occurs in Göteryd parish in the South Swedish Uplands. This study investigates why such a concentration of gallery graves exists in this region and why these were not exchanged by new monuments in the Bronze Age. In order to discuss these issues, the distribution of the monuments and the stray finds have been analysed and correlated to the results of local pollen analysis. The results support the impression of abandonment at the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The processes of expansion and abandonment seem to reflect general population trends, as discussed in recent works on population dynamics. Göteryd parish is a highland region and marginal from an agricultural point of view, but it borders on fertile and plain coastal areas, which are easily accessible through river valleys. In periods of population growth, Göteryd parish would absorb people from the coastal plains, a process that probably was reversed when the population shrank. The geographical position of the Göteryd area created a particular dynamic and made it vulnerable to changes in population dynamics, social networks, and climate.

The Final Palaeolithic in the coastal part of Lithuania with the technological emphasis on Aukštumala Stone Age sites

The Final Palaeolithic in the Lithuanian coastal zone has so far been represented only by a few archaeological finds from individual contexts, and a small number of archaeological excavations. However, their analysis has not revealed much regarding the technological development of hunting implements and work tools, or the choice and the use of necessary raw materials, and little data has been provided on the chronological aspects, or the connection between settlement locations and the changing level of the Baltic Sea. This paper presents the latest archaeological material from the Final Palaeolithic in the Lithuanian coastal area, based on the three sites at Aukštumala upland bog, and stray finds found in the area. The article focuses on technological and typological aspects of lithics related to Swiderian culture. The results of the study show that, with the shortage of flint raw material, Final Palaeolithic societies at Aukštumala relied on smaller and narrower blades, and compensated for the lack of flint raw material by using other, locally available metamorphic rocks.

Archaeological Traces of Hunter-gatherer Seasonal Occupation in Western Coastal Estonia from the Second Half of the 6th Millennium to the End of the 3rd Millennium BC

Results of archaeological surveys of paleocoastlines in the Western Estonian Lowland are discussed with paleogeographic reconstructions. Mapped sites and stray finds can be dated to the period between the end of the Pre-Pottery Mesolithic and the end of the Neolithic (roughly 5300–2000 cal BC). Uniquely for Estonia and neighbouring countries in this time frame, the overwhelming majority of the sites are aceramic (and the rest feature very few pottery finds) and the find diversity is otherwise low, too. The findings are interpreted as traces of seasonal occupation and mobility, for the first time demonstrated in the Eastern Baltics on such a large scale.

Edelmetallgegenstände als Quellen zu sozialen Prozessen der Spätawarenzeit (8.–9. Jahrhundert n. Chr.)

Abstract The present paper analyses the precious metal artefacts, scarcely known in the huge archaeological material of the “late Avar period” (eighth to early ninth centuries AD). Unlike in the previous era the majority of the gold and silver objects of the late Avar period are stray finds; in particular high-quality goldsmith's artefacts are absent in the grave assemblages of the eighth century. The significance of precious metal objects in grave assemblages reached its low ebb around the middle of the late Avar period; afterwards not only new object types appeared but a new grave-horizon emerged comprising precious metal objects. This paper, based on the quality and morphology of the objects, their archaeological contexts as well as their spatial distribution, draws a conclusion concerning the social and cultural changes in the early medieval Carpathian Basin.

Изделия из металла городища Большие Кучугуры (подъемный материал 1950—1970-х гг.)

The author analyzes metal products found at the hillfort of Bolshiye Kuchugury in 1950—1970 as stray finds. Among them, of interest are a few iron tools for woodworking and agriculture, a mortar and a bracelet with benevolent inscriptions, a gold ring, and a silver ingot-sauma. The analysis of the cultural and chronological attribution of the discoveries showed that their dating doesn’t go beyond the second half of the 14th — first quarter of the 15th century. The latter doesn’t agree with the view of a number of researchers, according to which the hillfort of Bolshiye Kuchugury (Ordu city) existed until the middle — third quarter of the 15th century. Trade development of population of the hillfort of Bolshiye Kuchugury is indicated by the discoveries of silver ingots-sauma. Products similar to the ones from “Kuchugury” were distributed across large territories of the Golden Horde. Absence of such discoveries at synchronous monuments in the Lower Dnieper region may indicate that their appearance in the region was not the result of trade links. Some of the products find direct analogies among the sites in the Volga region (Bulgar ulus) and moved along with the population of the Mamay Horde.

Fossilized fashion and social sparkle. Dutch Bronze Age bracelets in context

This contribution deals with the bronze bracelets found in the Netherlands that are datable between the Late Neolithic and the Middle Iron Age (n=176). We study their context (hoards, funerary contexts, settlements and stray finds), and we relate the specifics of their form and decoration to regional and supraregional traditions. First, we study their role as social signifiers (in reconstructions) of prehistoric identities across those scales, discussing how particular Bronze Age ‘costumes’ or ‘ornament sets’ may have been kept from graves and deposited in alternate ways. Then, we study later prehistoric arm-rings for their potential to indicate the scale, orientation and longevity of supraregional contact networks into which the later prehistoric communities of the Netherlands were integrated.

Fra grænselandet mellem to kulturer

Fra grænselandet mellem to kulturer

Demographic developments in Stone Age coastal western Norway by proxy of radiocarbon dates, stray finds and palynological data

This paper presents a multi-proxy approach to coastal Stone Age demography. It uses the district Hordaland, western Norway as a case and applies the proxies SPD (summed probability distributions) of radiocarbon dates and stray find distributions. These are compared to pollen-based landscape reconstructions. Large numbers of Stone Age sites have been surveyed and excavated in western Norway during the last few decades, mainly because of modern development and cultural heritage management. This work has produced significant amounts of radiocarbon dates. The data has, until now, not been sufficiently organized and systematized for the purpose of doing research on long-term changes. The same is true for the many stray finds, which are stored at University Museum of Bergen. During the last decades, methodological development in palynology has made compilation of data and new vegetation reconstructions possible. For the first time, these dispersed datasets from the district Hordaland are brought together for comparative purposes, with a specific goal to study relative demographic changes. The hypothesis is that during the Stone Age, demographic change accompanied big cultural transformations in the transition from LM (late Mesolithic) to EN (early Neolithic) c. 5950 cal BP and between MN (middle Neolithic) and LN (late Neolithic) c. 4300 cal BP. This study partly supports the hypothesis, as the changes in the SPD and the stray finds during the transition to the late Neolithic clearly reflect marked population growth, related to the introduction of agriculture, at the same time as the pollen data reveal forest clearance. The LM-EN transition is less clearly connected to demographic change. Generally, up until the transition to the LN, the data indicate that there was gradual demographic growth with marked fluctuations within a forested landscape. Although the proxies sometimes co-vary for the different periods, they may also display conflicting patterns, and this strengthens the argument that a multi-proxy approach to demographic studies is to be recommended.

Akmeniniai gludinti kirviai Lietuvoje. Tipologijos ir terminologijos problemos

1974–1978 m. Lietuvos istorijos institutas išleido keturtomį „Lietuvos archeologijos atlasą“. Pirmoji, habilituotos daktarės Rimutės Rimantienės redaguota, atlaso knyga skirta akmens ir bronzos amžių paminklams bei pavieniams šio laikotarpio radiniams (Atlasas 1974). Antroji šios knygos dalis (Bagušienė, Rimantienė 1974) apima visus kartografuotus gludintus akmeninius dirbinius, saugomus Lietuvos muziejuose. Darbe suregistruota 2560 gludintų akmeninių dirbinių iš 1420 radimo vietų, parengti paplitimo žemėlapiai, pagrindinių tipų rodyklė ir tipologinė schema, kuria Lietuvos archeologai ir muziejininkai naudojasi jau beveik pusę amžiaus. Onos Bagušienės ir Rimutės Rimantienės parengtą gludintų akmeninių dirbinių tipologinę schemą vertinu ne kaip nepajudinamą konstantą, o kaip dinamišką klasifikacinę modifikuojamą struktūrą. Straipsnyje pateikiama įžvalgos ir mintys, kilusios rengiant Pietvakarių Lietuvos (Užnemunės) gludintų akmeninių dirbinių duomenų bazę. Nagrinėjama pati gausiausia gludintų dirbinių tipologinė grupė – akmeniniai kirviai su skyle kotui.

Hauglegging i Sør-Fron – hva var de redd for? Gravfunn, løsfunn og flomskred i yngre jernalder

The density of large burial mounds in Sør-Fron shows that interring bodies in earth and stone was an act of great importance to the populace at some point in prehistory. In this paper I analyse grave finds and stray finds to establish when this need was at its most urgent. My results imply that the majority of the mounds date to the Late Iron Age, and show that the mounds had the agency to structure ritual action in the area at this time.
 Natural disasters, especially in the form of landslides, constituted a constant threat to the farming communities of the area in the Late Iron Age. Drawing on the work of Tarlow (1995), Skre (1996), Gardela (2016) and Eriksen (2019), I argue that constructing mounds was a way of coping with these threats through a manifestation of land ownership and a strategy of “ritual fertilization”.

THE SARMATIAN DISCOVERIES FROM RIPICENI – LA STÂNCĂ (BOTOȘANI COUNTY/RO): TWO GRAVES AND MANY QUESTIONS

The present paper aims to analyse two graves and other stray finds dated to the Roman period and discovered in 1979 and 1983 in the site of Ripiceni – La Stânca (Botoșani County/RO). Grave 1 belongs to an adult female (around 55-60 years old) with the skull intentionally deformed in the first years after her birth. The calvaria of the deceased no. 2 (a child around 2-3 years old) had also traces of artificial deformation. The morphology of both skeletons and the funerary inventory (beads, astragals, ceramics, etc.) can be associated with the Sarmatian culture. Based on analogies one can date the two graves from Ripiceni – La Sânca during the second half of the 2nd century – 3rd century AD. Probably this features are only a small part of a bigger cemetery destroyed by the animal farm complex constructed in the communist era.