A number of previously unknown
Wielbark sites have been discovered in northern and eastern Poland in recent
years, especially during the past decade or two. The origin of Wielbark is still
debated, as is the question of its polyethnicity. The presence of Scandinavian
elements can hardly be doubted; it's especially the characteristic stone
circles, stellae and geometrical "pavements" of Wielbark cemeteries that point
to cultural connections with Gotland and eastern Sweden (Uppland, Östergötland).
On the other hand, such constructions are not known from the earliest
phases of Wielbark, and the continuity between the local LaTene-ised
Oksywie culture (closely related to the "Vandalic" Przeworsk culture) and
Wielbark is also evident.
My personal opinion is that the East
Germanic languages were essentially "continental", and that some immigrant
groups of Scandinavian origin (the Amal elite?) mingled with the local
populations, transforming them culturally and politically (and deepening
the split between the Wielbark and Przeworsk cultures), but not linguistically.
The appearance of Scandinavian influence coincides with the expansion of the
Wielbark culture into northern Wielkopolska (former Przeworsk
territory).
The further southeastward spread of
Wielbark and its transformation into the Pontic/Danubian Gothic cultures
(Chernyakhiv, Sîntana de Muresh) is well documented archaeologically, with the
transitional phase represented by the Maslomecz (Masl/ome,cz)
group in the densely populated area around the confluence of the
Huczwa and Bug rivers on the Polish/Ukrainian border. The Maslomecz settlements
(which survived until the arrival of the Huns) were established ca. AD
175.
While clearly derived from Wielbark, the
group absorbed various other cultural influences (e.g. Sarmatian). You may find
it interesting that in the early fourth century the Maslomecz group developed a
new style of cremation burial with East Balkan analogies. This innovation is
sometimes attributed to "Getic" influence, resulting from the putative
northward migration of some Getic tribes (the Carpi?) into the Slovak and Polish
Carpathians and the River San valley (where their pottery has been found) in the
third century; they partly displaced the Przeworsk culture population or mingled
with it, and may have done some mingling with the Goths as well, even so
far north.
The Gothic kingdom in Ukraine was
polyethnic and multilingual, but whatever secondary identifications were made as
a result, the identity of the peoples known as the Gutones/Gutthiuda did not
disintegrate. Wulfilan Gothic is very clearly a form of (East) Germanic, not a
Germano-Scytho-Geto-Hunnish creole. The Goths are not confused
with the Getae in the Germanic tradition (in _Widsith_ etc., <Eormanric
[we:old] Gotum> [nom.pl. Gotan], never <Getum> or the
like).
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 12:35 AM
Subject: [tied] Getae and Gothi Together
(A side note: As far as archeaology proving that the "Goths" who appear
on the Danube in the third century AD were the same as "Wielbark" culture: the
fact is that most or all of Wielbark is not Scandinavian in origin. That
misimpression is the lingering legacy of Kossina. In fact, a good part of
Wielbark identified by Kossina as northern (e.g., the serpent headed bracelets
and such) seem to have originated long before in the area of the Danube.
Heather's argument is probably the strongest in favor of a 2d century AD
migration. But it is very circumstantial and pivots on the assumption that
key elements of Wielbark did not come from the south. And that is JUST an
assumption. It certainly does not jive with the spread of iron technology
or burial practices to the region.)