--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, george knysh <gknysh@...> wrote:
>
> The general point remains that these are quite rare, appear in areas
> of prior known Celtic settlement (but subsequently to the "local"
> Celts having switched to cremation burials), and reflect "Celtic
> religious tradition" (J. Kostrzewski). The Celts are known to have
> compactly inhabited three areas of Poland: near Wroclaw, in Upper
> Silesia, and around and about Cracow. The Przeworsk culture
> inhumations were first discovered in the Wroclaw enclave. Now we
> have some interesting material from the upper Vistula (at Pelczyska
> on the Nida, near Cracow), part of the so-called Tyniec group.
>
> Cf. http://www.archeo.uw.edu.pl/szablon.php?id=830
> Marcin Rudnicki writes as follows about Pelczyska:
> "The largest number of finds from site 6 is associated with the
> gravefield of the Przeworsk Culture people, set up over the site of
> older cemeteries during the 1st c. BC. Burials from this period
> discovered at PeÅczyska are a reflection of the complex culture
> situation of the period (Tyniec Group). A definite majority are
> cremation burials, within pits, with no traces of the pyre (âpureâ),
> reminiscent of grave forms of âSilesianâ type. The first urned
> graves - very few - come on record only during the second half of AD
< 1st c. (phase B1b). Next to âordinaryâ pit graves, the cemetery at
> PeÅczyska harboured a peculiar grave deposit - a âditch featureâ -
> on a rectangular plan, 6 by 6 m, datable to phase A3 (LT D2). This
> type of grave is known from other sites in the region and its
> presence at PeÅczyska is interpreted as the result of Celtic
> influence on burial rite in Przeworsk Culture. Truly exceptional are
> two inhumation burials - the only such deposits from the Pre-Roman
> Period known from this region of Poland. The complex issues of the
> origin of inhumation on Przeworsk Culture territory and of the
> origin of the woman buried in the grave at PeÅczyska, are discussed
> in a separate publication (Rudnicki 2005)."
>
> This separate publication is:
>
> "A Late La Tène inhumation grave from PeÅczyska: Comments on the
> cultural situation in the upland area of Little Poland (with
> analysis of anatomical remains by Karol Piasecki), [w:] H.
> DobrzaÅska, V. Megaw, P. Poleska (red.), Celts on the margin.
> Studies in European cultural interaction VIIth cent. BC - I cent.
> AD. dedicated to Zenon Woźniak, Kraków 2005, 195-206."
>
>
> I don't have access to this item here. It seems to me that Rudnicki
> would be arguing for Celtic influence here also, and that the
> incomers were from areas close to the Alpine Roman border where
> inhumation was still practiced among the Celts at that time (but one
> would obviously need to read the work).
>
> Rudnicki's coordinates are here:
>
> http://www.archeo.uw.edu.pl/szablon.php?id=356
Here's Rudnicki's article:
'A Late La Tène inhumation grave from PeÅczyska:
Comments on the cultural situation in the upland area of Little Poland
(with an analysis of the anatomical remains by Karol Piasecki)
Marcin Rudnicki
The subject of this study is an inhumation burial, which due to its chronology and cultural connotations, is an unusual discovery for the western part of the loess upland of Little Poland. Interpretation of the find and of its context is closely bound up with discussion of the cultural unit referred to as the Tyniec Group, which has been researched for many years by Zenon Woźniak. The term 'Tyniec Group' was originally coined to describe a mixed Celtic-Przeworsk settlement group dating from the end of the LT D1 phase to the beginning of the Roman period, the remains of which were found, amongst other locations (all settlements with painted pottery), at the eponymous site at Tyniec near Krakow. With the passing of time, however, it has transpired that the beginning of Celtic settlement in the western part of Little Poland considerably antedates the arrival in the area of people of the Przeworsk culture; as a result, the chronology of the Tyniec Group requires considerable modification. At present, the whole 'Celtic' episode in the prehistory of the western region of Little Poland is still referred to as the Tyniec Group, within which three phases of development can be distinguished (Woźniak 1992, 1996).
To observe that clarification of the settlement situation in the western region of Little Poland area towards the end of the first century BC will take many more years of research is a statement of the obvious. It is, however, a fact that attempts to define the cultural changes taking place in this area keep raising a number of questions. Progress in research into the subject is hindered both by the state of the publication of research results from previous years and by the very slow information flow concerning new finds. The most recent discoveries made at the cemetery site at PeÅczyska provide high quality evidence for discussions on the subject. This is due to the diversity of grave material dating from the late La Tène period which can be compared with the contemporary evidence form the nearby settlement. To simplify the matter, the issue under discussion can be reduced to a question of terminology which from the methodological point of view may appear insignificant. The question is what term should be used in reference to the material from PeÅczyska and a number of other sites from the basins of the Nida and Nidzica rivers, mostly dated to the first century BC - whether the period should be referred to as the Late La Tene or the Pre-Roman1. Should the material be classified as belonging to the Tyniec Group and thus to the La Tene cultural millieu or should it rather be related to the Przeworsk culture? How many and which of the cultural elements substantiate the application of either of these terms? The finds from this period discovered at PeÅczyska seem to reflect complex settlement transformations characteristic for all of the western area of Little Poland.
PeÅczyska, part of the rural community of ZÅota in the ÅwiÄtokrzyskie
province, is located on the edge of the Little Poland upland, about 55 km north-east from Krakow. It is situated in the right bank of the Nida river basin (a tributary of the Vistula river system) and is covered with very fertile loess soil. So far seven archaeological sites have been located within the area (Fig. 1). The sites numbered 1, 2 and 4, cover the area of a multi-period dwelling where excavations were carried out from 1959 to 1973 by Å. Okuliczowa, D. Szlifirska and L. Gajewski and from 2000 to 2002 by the present writer. It is from this area that numerous and diverse material of the La Tène culture has been recovered. The majority of the finds may undoubtedly be linked to the physical presence of Celtic people, and so the classification of PeÅczyska as a Tyniec Group site as defined by Woźniak - at least from the Middle La Tène period - is beyond any doubt.
Against the backdrop of the Tyniec Group the PeÅczyska dwelling is one of the most northern sites, and, taking into account the material from the first and second phase of the group's development, it is also the richest one. The stratification of material dated from the La Tène period allows for the distinction of three settlement phases which roughly correspond with consecutive stages of the development of the Tyniec Group (Rudnicki 1996).
The oldest horizon, the chronology of which falls at the end of the LT B2 phase and LT C1, is represented by assemblages with Celtic pottery forms2 without any components of the Przeworsk culture in the inventory. The majority of finds are pots made on the wheel, grey and with the addition of graphite, accompanied by glass and sapropelite bracelet fragments and numerous metal objects. Possibly associated with this horizon are the remains of a scattered hoard of HuÅi-VovrieÅti type tetradrachms (Rudnicki 2003: 16-20).
The second horizon, covering LT C2 and part of LT D13, is a continuation of the features of the earlier settlement. Evidence of the booming economy of this period is the find of a locally minted golden coin of the nominal value of one-eighth of a stater and of a lump of gold, melted down from a coin having the nominal value of one stater; both of these that date from the turn of the second and first centuries or the beginning of the first century BC (Rudnicki 2003: 4-16). Up to now the only complex that represents the second settlement horizon is a Grubenhaus discovered in 1972. Its inventory is also dominated by wheel-made pottery. However, unlike the older complex, these wares are accompanied by a small number of hand-built vessels (including one pot of inverted pear shape) typical of the Przeworsk culture, representative of the so-called 'older style' (DÄ
browska 1988: 28ff. and figs 1: 1; 2: 22). Its presence is evidence of contacts between the Celtic population which occupied the PeÅczyska settlement and the ethnically alien people of the later culture.
Horizon III of the La Tène settlement at PeÅczyska, the chronology of which covers the later stage of LT D1 and LT D24, in its cultural aspect presents a completely different picture from that of the preceding phases. The differences are substantial enough to be considered, without any exaggeration, as signs of a serious transformation in the settlement structure. Regarding the scope of these changes it can be supposed that they also involved population changes. They manifest themselves in the archaeological material predominantly through the new ceramic inventory, but also through new solutions in the construction of the domestic buildings5 and new ritual elements, manifested by dog burials. In the ceramic repertoire of phase III, which consists almost exclusively of the hand formed pots, three technological and formal groups can be distinguished. Besides the pots of the 'younger style' of the Przeworsk culture (phase A3 of the pre-Roman period), there are numerous examples of pottery that resemble in form, decoration and technology the pottery traditions of the Late La Tène and Dacian cultures. The third group consists of pots that combine the features of the various above-mentioned pottery traditions. The few sherds of painted Celtic
pottery found in this context indicate on the one hand that the dwelling at this time had no longer its own pottery workshop, - one certainly existed in earlier phases - and on the other that in phase III the PeÅczyska dwelling was on the periphery of the influence of the pottery centres in the Kraków area. Although in the phase III complexes pots showing features characteristic of the Przeworsk
culture predominant, the presence of a relatively large group of vessels - mainly heavy-duty kitchenware - representing traditions alien to this culture can also be observed. This fact, despite a paucity of Celtic wheel-made pottery, has lead the present writer to consider this material as belonging to the Tyniec Group (Rudnicki 1996).
With the passing of time it has been possible to verify the theories based on a study of the material from the settlement structure. In 2000 following excavations of an area located approximately 350 m to the south-west of the PeÅczyska dwelling, a multicultural burial ground was located. On that site were found graves whose chronology corresponds with that of the dwelling. Investigation of the burial ground - designated site 6 - was conducted in the years 2001-2002 and 2004 under the author's direction. Unfortunately, it transpired that the site had suffered serious damage due to erosion, a result of agricultural cultivation of the area. A number of artefacts, originally associated with the graves, were discovered on the surface and in the modern top soil. Despite this, in addition to Neolithic and Bronze Age graves, several burials were recovered intact. The latter's chronology falls in the Late La Tène period (or the younger Pre-Roman period) and the Early Roman period (Fig. 2). With one exception, all graves were cremation burials though with some variation in precise form.
The skeletal burial (Fig. 2: 4; 3; 4) was discovered in 2002 at a depth of approximately 20 cm, directly under the turf line. As it turned out, it was partly dug into another, older, skeletal grave dating probably to the early Bronze Age. The upper part of the grave pit had been destroyed by erosion and thus its original depth remains unknown. The length of the grave cavity6 was difficult to calculate particularly at the eastern end, and was only measured at its base.
The shape was nearly rectangular, measuring some 2.65 x 1.35 m, with the longer axis oriented exactly east-west line. A well-preserved human skeleton was uncovered in the filling of the grave7. It was lying on its right side, with the head pointing toward the west. The legs were bent and lying one on top of the other with the arms - slightly bent at the elbow - extended parallel with the line of the body. The scapulae were markedly raised in relation to the bones of
the arms which indicate that prior to the placing in the grave the body was tied by the arms. This could have been done while the person was alive or, more probably, post mortem but before the onset of rigor mortis (see Appendix 1 below). According to the anatomical report, the skeleton is that of a mature female, adultus maturus (c. 30-35 years)8. In addition - and possibly a chance occurrence - in the general area of the skeleton an ankle bone of a mature goat or sheep was found.
The deceased was equipped with two pots (Fig. 4: 1, 2) placed on either side of her head. Pot no. 1 (Fig. 5) was approximately 5 cm from the skull at the level of the jaw. Pot no. 2 (Fig. 6) was placed directly behind the head. Under it there was a human rib (Fig. 4: 3), belonging to a second skeleton; the manner in which this bone was placed under the pot indicates that this was no chance deposition.
The partly preserved pot no. 1, is a thin walled egg-shaped cup (5.6 cm in height and with an internal diameter of 4.6 cm) with traces of an handle. The rim is plain, tapering and slightly in-turned. Pot no. 2, preserved in fragments but complete, is a small bowl (height: 10.5 cm, internal diameter: 21 cm), with a rounded belly, markedly tapering inward towards the base. The rim, thickened and faceted, has an approximately triangular cross section.
From a technological point of view, the two pots just described are similar. Both were hand made from clay containing a considerable amount of medium to fine sand and baked in a reduced atmosphere. The surface of each vessel, black in colour, had been carefully burnished. The only difference between two is the fact that in section pot no. 1 has a multicoloured fabric, and pot no. 2 has a monochrome one. Both have been well made and can be described as tableware. The technology of making and the profile as well as the method of forming the rim of both pots are typical for the Przeworsk culture. The shape of pot no. 2 is characteristic of the so-called 'younger style' of Przeworsk culture pottery of the Pre-Roman period (DÄ
browska 1988: 31-44, fig. 4: 61). Very similar bowls are known from many sites of this culture, mainly from cemeteries. Analogous forms from the burials at KamieÅczyk have been classified as type II.3 bowls, normally dated to phase A3 although they sometimes occur in A2 contexts (DÄ
browska 1977:102). Similarly dated are bowls from the cemetery at Karczewiec (DÄ
browska 1973: 502; compare bowls of 7C type: fig. 52, 53) and WesóÅki (DÄ
browscy 1967 - see for instance the pots from grave 3). Based on the grave inventories form these sites, the occurrence of these pots may be correlated mainly with the horizon which contains brooches of type M - according to Kostrzewski's typology. Similar pots, particularly the those with a triangular profiled rim, are also known from settlements of the third phase of the Tyniec Group as at PrzemÄczany (Poleska 1986: tab. I: 1, 17), KrzesÅawice (Poleska
and ToboÅa 1987: fig. 13:5,8; 20:16,18,19) and PodÅÄże (Woźniak 1990: 44-45 - compare pots of type XXVI-3). Fragments of very similar bowls were also associated with the house discovered in the settlement at PeÅczyska itself, dating to the third phase of the settlement during the La Tène period (Rudnicki 1996: fig. 6: 11, 14).
Small egg-shaped cups, similar to pot no. 1, are known from Przeworsk culture cemeteries. As a rule they have a handle, which was not preserved in the example from PeÅczyska; however, traces visible on its surface allow one to conclude that originally there was without a doubt a handle attached to the rim. Cups of this type from the burial ground of KamieÅczyk with a rim diameter ranging between 6-7 cm and 5-7 cm in height are classified as type 1.7 and dated to phases A2-3 of the younger Pre-Roman period. It has to be noted however, that very similar forms were also found in graves from the beginning of the Roman period (DÄ
browska 1997: 101-102). At the KamieÅczyk site a small pot very similar in size and shape to the cup from PeÅczyska was also found in grave no. 118 together with M and L type brooches, dated from phase A3 (DÄ
browska 1997: 33, fig. 62: 9).
In Karczewiec the pots of the type comparable with those of variety 7 occur mainly in graves from phase II of the cemetery, and less frequently in graves of later date (DÄ
browska 1973: 501). A little cup, very similar to the pot from PeÅczyska was discovered in grave no. 152 and is dated by the spoon-bow fibula (DÄ
browska 1973: 473, fig. 40: 6). Another cup of this type occurs in grave no. 13 from WesóÅki together with a type M brooch and a shield boss of flattened profile (DÄ
browscy 1967: 20-22).
Despite the lack of metal objects amongst the PeÅczyska grave goods the characteristic form of the pots allows one to establish their chronology quite precisely. Following the terminology applicable to the Przeworsk culture, this falls within phase A3 of the younger pre-Roman period. Viewing PeÅczyska from the perspective of the Tyniec Group, and having regard to parallels in other sites in the western part of Little Poland, the grave should be dated to LT D2. In terms of absolute chronology this approximately corresponds with the second half of the first century BC.
The inhumation graves of the Przeworsk culture dating to the Pre-Roman and Early Roman periods are extremely rare. We shall omit here the best known among them - the so-called 'princely graves'. This however does not mean that the rite of inhumation typical of lavishly furnished graves was not also associated with the ceremonies accompanying 'ordinary' burials. On the contrary, having regard to
contemporary evidence for parallels for the phenomenon in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other parts of Poland, it seems that there may have been a common practice shared by all these regions9. This, however, is a matter that takes us considerably beyond the limits of the present study. Leaving aside the princely graves, examples of inhumation burials dating from the discussed period have been found at more than 40 sites in Poland. These consist of examples from cemeteries and isolated graves and as well as from burials found within settlements. Due to the patchy state of published information it is difficult to determine precisely their maximum number but it certainly exceeds 130.
There is no space here for a detailed description of these burials nor is it the present writer's objective so to do. Discussion will be limited to some observations that arise as a result of comparing the PeÅczyska grave with other burials of this type, and in particular as concerns certain details connected with burial ritual which so far have not been noted. The comparisons cover both finds from period of the Pre-Roman period, as well as from the early stage of Roman period because in respect of the observed burial ritual - and thus the belief system which must have been behind the ritual - there are a lot of characteristics in common, notwithstanding territorial differences. It must however be emphasized that, for various reasons, with respect to many discoveries we either lack information about details which are of interest to us (cf. Balke 1969: 361ff; Zielonka 1970: 184; Gedl 1972: 110-112), or that the information which we do have is unreliable10.
Finds of inhumation graves of the Przeworsk culture from the Pre-Roman and Early Roman periods are grouped in several regions: Kujawia and PaÅuki, Lower Silesia and the GÅubczycka Upland. From the western part of Little Poland so far only one certain burial11 has been recorded - from Kraków Nowa Huta (Hachulska Ledwos 1966). Despite being a bit younger than the grave from PeÅczyska it is interesting for a number of reasons. Amongst other features, despite some differences with regard to, among other aspects, the orientation and the deposition of the body, in several other aspects both graves are very alike.
Particularly significant is the size of the grave pit, which in both cases is disproportionably large in relation to what was actually required for burying the deceased12. A similar situation may be observed with regard to several graves in the cemetery at InowrocÅaw, site 58 (Cofta-Broniewska, Bednarczyk 1998:95) and the grave of Nowa WieÅ WrocÅawska, site 1 (Pescheck 1939: 344). Further similarities are found in relation to the way of laying out the body in the grave as well as the actual grave goods; in the last two examples, the deceased were placed on their right side with legs flexed13. Although this way of arranging the bodies was not ubiquitous, it predominates in both Silesia and Kujawia (Woźniak 1970: 351-353; Bykowski 1976:141;Zielonka 1976:184). Out of 17 skeletal burials discovered in the cemetery of InowrocÅaw, site 58, in as many as nine cases the deceased were placed in this flexed position, and an additional three examples were similarly laid out but placed on their left side.
What is also significant is the way the pots that make up the grave goods are selected and arranged. Although it is difficult to discern one standard arrangement, the placing of objects in the graves was definitely not accidental. The common feature of burials of this type is in fact the paucity of the grave inventory - in which clay pots predominate (compare Bykowski 1976: 141-142) - especially when compared with cremation burials. As a rule, two or three pots
were placed in each grave; on rare occasions there is a single pot, and exceptionally more than three (Biskupin, grave No. 1; InowrocÅaw, site 58, grave no. 30). Moreover, in most cases the pots were placed near the head and much more rarely lower down relative to the body, at waist level or near the feet. The positioning of the grave goods within the PeÅczyska grave offers, among others, confirmation of this rule. However, in this case what calls for special attention is the arrangement of two complete pots, the smaller one in front of the skull and the bigger one behind. An identical or very similar pattern can be observed in the graves from InowrocÅaw, site 58 (features 13 and 31). In addition, in all three cases the same positioning and type of pot is repeated - the cup in front of the face and the bowl behind the head, a feature which can hardly be deemed accidental. The same set - a bowl and a cup - although arranged within the grave in a slightly different way, accompanied several other graves at this site (nos. 1, 9, 28, 58). It should be noted that all the afore-mentioned burials are women's graves. Bowls and cups, isolated or in sets of three pots were found in another four female graves (nos. 33, 63, 64, 76) and in one male burial (no. 67).
Similar arrangements, in which a larger pot was placed behind the corpse which was lying on its right side with legs bent, with a smaller vessel on the opposite side, apply to the geographically somewhat distant grave from Kraków Nowa Huta, a site which has already been referred to, as well as the burial discovered at Bartki in north-east Poland (Bohnsack 1939); in both cases the grave goods also comprised also a third pot placed by the feet of the burial.
Finally, some attention should be paid to the question of grave orientation. However, once more it is difficult to discern the rules which may have been applied though this does not mean that no such rules were applied. Despite the varying orientation that was characteristic for both the Pre-Roman and the Early Roman periods, the laying out of the grave pit - and of the body - was definitely accompanied by an attempt to correspond with the main cardinal points (N-S or E-W). Exceptions to this rule seem largely to have resulted from different levels of precision in planning the position of the graves. Taking into account all graves, a N-S orientation clearly dominates (cf. Bykowski 1976: 140-141). However, taking into consideration the chronological differentiation of individual sites one can observe a general rule according to which this predominance increased gradually overtime (cf. NiewÄgÅowski 1981, 52-56). As an example, the cemetery of Kietrz (Gedl 1972: 110-112) shows that in the advanced, phase B2, stage of the Early Roman period a N-S orientation became the rule. This apparent tendency seems to be confirmed by the situation recorded at InworocÅaw, site 58. As many as four out of five graves classified as belonging to the earlier phase of the cemetery's use had their longer axes aligned E-W, while all twelve burials from the younger phase were N-S (Cofta-Broniewska, Bednarczyk 1998: fig. 4-5). At the same time, it may be supposed that the differentiation in the alignment of graves from the older horizon may have resulted from such features as sexual differentiation. Although it is difficult to be dogmatic on this matter, it is worth noting that all graves from this horizon that have been identified with certainty (grave nos. 54, 64) were female burials, as was the case at PeÅczyska and Bartki.
An important feature of the burial ritual observed at PeÅczyska which was established beyond doubt, is the tying back of the arms. The lack of parallel observations and the schematic nature of the illustrations which have appeared in earlier publications, let alone the poor state of skeletal preservation, make it impossible to conclude whether this was a common custom. Judging by the arrangement of the arm bones and scapulae of the skeletons from InowrocÅaw (grave nos. 13, 31, 57, 64, 67) it may be presumed, that at least some of the deceased were also treated in a similar manner.
Few skeletal graves dating from the period we have been discussing are known outside the Przeworsk culture circle which are similar in ritual to the PeÅczyska burial. Isolated finds of the type including the burials where the pot was placed by the skull, are known from the PoieneÅti-LukaÅ¡evka culture area (BabeÅ, 1993: 34-35). Very interesting discoveries, dated to phase B1a of the Roman period, come from south-west Slovakia (KolnÃk 1971: 509-514, fig. 9. 2; 10), a region which was then occupied by the Quadi. Individual burials in this area with regard to the orientation of the grave pit (W-E) and the way the body is laid out (on the right side, with bent legs and facing south) are very similar to the PeÅczyska burial. On the basis of the published illustrations it can also be presumed that the custom of tying the body by the arms was also practised, a feature which increases the degree of similarity between the two areas.
Recapitulating the previous discussion, it can be stated that the inhumation burials from the pre-Roman and early Roman periods in the Przeworsk culture area - as well as at least those from south-western Slovakia - have a lot of features in common. The quantity and diversity of these features is large enough to venture the conclusion that we are dealing with graves of the same group of people. Some differentiation in regard of the burial ritual, such as the alignment and arrangement of the deceased's body, the selection and arrangement of grave goods, resulted from certain and frequently varied rites performed during burial, which were usually ruled by such features as social status, sex, the role in the group and so forth. Typical of this fact is that the inhumation graves discussed here, regardless of the geographical location, are often found as isolated burials (Kraków Nowa Huta), as discrete groups in cremation cemeteries (Kietrz) or small, isolated burials (Biskupin, Stogi and WÄgry). Identical observations apply to the area of south-western Slovakia (KolnÃk 1971: 510). Due largely to the damage to the PeÅczyska site it is difficult to say to which category the skeletal burial found there should really belong. Based on the plans of contemporary cremation cemeteries and the spread of artefacts which had formed part of the grave goods it may be deduced that originally the grave was placed at the edge of the cemetery and at a distance from other burials. Taking into consideration the above observations and the distinctive ritual form commonly used in cremations, it can be assumed that people who observed the rite of inhumation represented an ethnic group alien both to the Quadi as well as to the Przeworsk culture.
So how to interpret the PeÅczyska grave and other similar burials? German researchers have linked the inhumation graves to the Germanic tribe of the Siling Vandals, who arrived in Silesia from Northern Europe (cf. Bykowski 1976:145-146). A different view was advanced by Józef Kostrzewski, who attributed the graves to an autochthonous group taking over the new burial rite from the Celts (Kostrzewski 1936). Current literature on the subject is dominated by the view that the inhumation graves contain remains either of Celtic people or representatives of the Przeworsk culture who had adopted Celtic
burial customs (Woźniak 1970:231-232; Bykowski 1976: 150ff; Pazda 1980: 26; BÅażejewski 1998: 23).
However, in Teresa DÄ
browska's opinion the only sites which demonstrate Celtic influence are the inhumation graves from Silesia and Kujawia dated to phase A2 of the pre-Roman Iron Age (DÄ
browska 1988, 145). The basis for the theory of a Celtic origin for the rite of inhumation burial in the Przeworsk culture is - beside the actual rite itself - that the distribution of the earliest graves corresponds with areas of Celtic settlement in Middle Silesia as well as those areas that were under strong Celtic influence such as Kujawia. But despite being widely accepted, there are a number of weak points in this theory which raise serious doubts as to its validity.
Doubts arise when one attempts to compare Celtic burial rituals with the adoption of inhumation over vast stretches of Europe in the Pre-Roman and Early Roman periods. The problem however does not only apply to the Przeworsk culture - where inhumation is most widespread - but also to the region of south-western Slovakia inhabited by the Quadi, that part of the Czech republic (BÅeÅ 1953) inhabited by the Marcomani and maybe to a small extent also to the territory of the Bastarni of the PoieneÅti-LukaÅ¡evka culture. Once more, there is room here only to present a brief review of the fundamental differences between the two main forms of burial. A key area is that of present-day Bohemia and Moravia. This is not a random choice, as in the material culture of the Celts who were inhabiting both Central Silesia and the GÅubczyce Upland as well as the territory of the western part of Little Poland, the influences from these areas are most clear. The first feature to note is the plan of the burial pit. Unlike the grave which is our particular interest, Celtic graves were little more than slit-trenches, the majority of which had their longer axis aligned N-S. As a rule the dead were placed on their backs heading north, again in contrast to the PeÅczyska burial and its parallels. Of course there are exceptions to the rule such as those burials where the deceased were placed on their sides with their legs flexed or again face down, or the fact that some isolated burials were located outside cemeteries, or yet again - a feature not previously mentioned - the placing of a stone cairn over the grave. In the literature on the subject some of them have been claimed as a link between the Celtic ritual and that used in the pre-Roman and early Roman periods (Woźniak 1970: 232; Bykowski 1976:146). One can however raise a question here: may those graves, sporadically found in the La Tène culture area, and so similar to the graves we have been discussing here, by chance have contained the remains of the very ancestors of those very same people who are the subject of this paper?
One may quote Jan Filip's opinion who considered the 'foreign' features discernible in Celtic burial ritual to be the due to the impact of local folk beliefs on Celtic religion (Filip 1956: 292, 294). Further differences may be seen in the way the dead were equipped, a feature which has already been pointed out in older literature (cf. Bykowski 1976: 147-148). Unlike the Celtic graves, the Przeworsk-Quadi burials were very seldom furnished with weapons, and hardly more frequently with ornaments and clothing accessories. Grave goods consisted mainly of pottery vessels, sometimes in large numbers, which is in contrast to Celtic usage. One may also note such differences such as in the age profile of the dead. In the inhumation graves, at least in those from the Przeworsk culture area, people of a wide range of age were buried from infants to old people (cf. Bykowski 1976:141), while in the Celtic graves it seems that the majority of children who died before reaching the age of thirteen, and specifically infants, were not buried (Waldhauser 2001: 86). More differences of this kind could be listed; however, without any doubt, there is no evidence for a direct continuity of Celtic burial ritual into the Pre-Roman and Early Roman periods (cf. Woźniak 1970: 232).
Further contrary evidence must be added to the already stated differences in burial ritual. The oldest inhumation graves in the Przeworsk culture area, found in both Silesia and Kujawia, can be dated to not earlier than phase A2 of the Pre-Roman period. It should be noted that there are no grounds whatsoever to date any of them to phase A1 (DÄ
browska 1988: 143). The evidence just cited encourages one to argue for a sudden appearance of inhumation burial in phase A2 of the Przeworsk culture as opposed to a gradual adoption (or continuation) of burial customs inherited from the earlier inhabitants of the area - the Celts. Indeed, it is worth remembering the gradual transformation that Celtic burial rites underwent. The Celts who inhabited Central Europe ceased to use inhumation by the end of the third century BC and, as a result of influences stemming from the Carpathians, influences often linked to folk movements in the area, within a century cremation became the dominant rite. By the beginning of the second century BC the Celts had started commonly to use a method of deposing of the dead which left few if any archaeological traces. If we add to this the observation that the youngest Celtic graves from Silesia, dating to the beginning of the LT C1 phase, are cremation burials, the theory of a Celtic origin for inhumation in the Pre-Roman period appears even more doubtful. Besides, there are very weak grounds for supporting the argument for a parallel territorial expansion of Celtic settlement on Polish soil and the occurrence of burials of the type discussed here. Save for Kujawia, where no clear traces of Celtic settlements (let alone graves) have as yet been found, the problem centres on the areas of Silesia and the western part of Little Poland. In case of Silesia, contrary to the argument for a Celtic origin for inhumation burials is the chronology of their earliest examples which appear near WrocÅaw in phase A2 and on the GÅubczycka Upland as late as phase B2 of the Roman period. Further, in the western part of Little Poland, where Celtic settlement lasted the longest, the appearance of single inhumation graves in the third phase of the Tyniec Group can hardly be considered as a result of the continuation of local tradition. The fact that the number of graves from the Przeworsk culture of the La Tène and Early Roman periods is relatively small in comparison to the number of dwellings is interpreted as the result of adoption by a part of this culture of the Celtic burial ritual which left few if any archaeological traces (Woźniak 1970: 239). At the same time, in regard to Silesia area, it seems that the same act of adoption resulted in the very presence of not only graves as such, but inhumation graves (Woźniak 1970: 232; DÄ
browska 1988:142), although by then Celts had not been using inhumation for a long time.
When one draws together the disparate threads of the previous discussion there would seem to be strong grounds for regarding the appearance of inhumation graves in the areas occupied by the Przeworsk culture and by the Tyniec Group as the result of small-scale migration by an intrusive but not Celtic group. Probably, the ancestors of this group had coexisted with the Celts for some considerable time, as may be deduced from the atypical inhumation burials known from the La Tène culture areas. The relative positioning of these graves suggests that in the territory occupied by the Przeworsk and Tyniec groups as well as by the Quadi and Marcomani this intrusive group lived in relative isolation. On the other hand, the nature of the grave contents indicate that they maintained close contact with the south, resulting in a rapid adoption of a 'Romanised' style in the A3-B1 phase (cf. NiewÄgÅowski 1981: 52ff.); the evidence for this is a very high frequency of phase B1a cultural markers when contrasting with the contents of the contemporary Przeworsk culture cremation graves.
It is difficult to indicate unequivocally the exact origin of those putative new-comers. Anthropological analysis of the skull in the woman's grave at PeÅczyska however offers some clues (see Appendix below). The results conclusively indicate the southern origin of the deceased (Fig. 7), with the precise area being possibly the Mediterranean littoral. From the point of view of physical anthropology the woman from PeÅczyska undoubtedly represents an alien on Polish soil. This may of course be an isolated occurrence and a larger series of analyses is required before one can offer a more definite conclusion.
To conclude, some further observations may be added concerning the context of the PeÅczyska inhumation grave. As mentioned, it was positioned some distance from other graves of the cemetery (Fig. 2) which mostly consisted of cremation pit graves (Fig. 2: 2, 3), very similar to the so-called Lower Silesia grave type (cf. NiewÄgÅowski 1981: 24).
The chronology of the large majority of complex and single graves fall into the phases A3-B1, with the temporal limits of the burial ground - from phase A2 to B2-C1a - being set by a few stray finds (Kontny, Rudnicki 2002: 150ff.). Until now only two urn graves have been found which can be linked to phase B1 of the Roman period. Another feature, also discovered in the cemetery in 200214, is a section of a rectangular ditch visible only as a discolouration in the soil (Fig. 2: 5; 8) which can be dated to phase A3 by it association with a type M fibula found. Features of this type are known from other sites in the western region of Little Poland (see Naglik 2002: 152-155 and other references cited there) and are interpreted as evidence of Celtic influence.
Can the material discovered at PeÅczyska be classified as belonging to the Tyniec Group? The answer would seem to be in the affirmative if we regard the Tyniec Group as a multicultural phenomenon - indeed as possibly a multi-ethnic mosaic. Undoubtedly the material reflects the complex cultural situation of the area of Little Poland in the late La Tène phase and at the beginning of the Roman period. The best evidence of this is the contemporary use of three different burial rites, the traces of all three of which have been found in the PeÅczyska cemetery.
1 The use by the present writer of the term 'Late La Tène' in the title and the body of this article of course in no respect solves the problem but simply follows conventional terminology.
2 Consisting of four Grubenhäuser and several storage pits.
3 The youngest occupation layer which can be attributed to phase II, is represented among other artefacts by the fragment of a bronze fibula of Nauheim type which can be identified as belonging to 'classic' Group A form as classified by Striewe (1996).
4 In terms of absolute chronology, from the second half of the first century BC to the first decades AD, i.e. to the beginnings of the Roman period.
5 The five features that can be linked to phases I and II are exclusively Grubenhäuser, while the two structures from phase III are built on the ground surface.
6 Recorded as feature no. 9
7 Recorded as stratum no. 3 - light brown loess mixed with yellow loess
8 The precise age of the skeleton proved difficult to establish - the sutures were not joined but the teeth exhibited considerable surface ware.
9 Zenon Woźniak has approached this question in a somewhat similar manner, treating as one horizon the cremation the Early Roman period in the western part of Little Poland, and the inhumation grave from Kraków Nowa Huta and the princely burial from Giebultow as belonging to the same horizon of discoveries related to population movements (Woźniak 1970, 238ff).
10 For instance, the description of bones from grave no. 2 discovered at Biskupin (WierciÅska 1969, 372) does not match the situation depicted in the published illustration (q.v. Balke 1969, ryc. 5).
11 It is possible that an Early Roman period grave of this type was also discovered at Rosiejów near Pinczów (cf. Jamka 1966, 155).
12 The dimensions of the Kraków Nowa Huta grave pit were 3x2.5 m (Hachulska Ledwos 1966, 151).
13 There is a notable difference in the Kraków Nowa Huta grave where the deceased's hands were bent at the elbow at an angle of 45 degrees so that both could be placed, palm up on either side of the face.
Marcin Rudnicki
Instytut Archeologii
Uniwersytet Warszawski
SzkoÅa GÅowna
ul. Krakówskie PrzedmieÅcie 26/28
PL 00-927 Warszawa
e-mail: rudnis@...
Karol Piasecki
Anthropological analysis
of a human skeleton
from PeÅczyska grave no. 9
The skeleton found in a grave recorded as feature no. 9 was virtually complete. It lay on its right side with the face turned to the south. Its position with highly raised shoulders suggests that the body had been bound at shoulder level while hands had hung free. The spine was straight, the legs flexed. Diagnostic features unequivocally indicate an age of 30-35 years. The sex of the skeleton was female.
The skull
The skull is complete, crushed under the weight of the soil. As received, the fragments of the skull had been glued although some parts of the base and jaw are missing. The skull is small, relatively gracile, although decidedly archimorphic, the dentition incomplete, the second and third right molars and the first lower right molar had been lost ante mortem. Inflammatory changes of an alveolar process at the height of the first right upper premolar had caused a fistula to the outside wall and palate. The presence of upper left molars is uncertain because of incorrect reconstruction. The crowns of teeth are abraded in a marked, even way and in general the teeth are rather small and delicate with even occlusion and no visible signs of crown hypoplasia.
Craniometry:
g - op 181
eu - eu 118
b - ba 140
ft - ft 93
zy - zy 121
zm - zm 91
n - ns 47
n - pr 62
n - gn 99
mf - ek 40
orbit height (h. orbitae) 33.5
apt - apt 24
go - go 88
kdl - kdl 103
cranioscopy (following the scales devised by Michalski, WierciÅski and
Piasecki):
1.2
2.2
3.2
4.1
5.3
6.4
7.4
8.1
9.1
10.4
11.5
12.3
13.6
14.12
15.2/3
16.23
17.7
18.5
19.3
20.5
21.5
22.3/4
23.4
25.2
26.3
27.2
28.5
Indexes:
Width - length 65.2
Height-length 77.3
Height-width 118.6
Frontal - parietal 78.8
Facial morphological 81.8
Kolmann's upper facial 51.2
Virchoff's upper facial 68.1
Nasal 51.1
Orbital 83.8
Size module (m2) 160.5
Size module (m3) 146.3
In general terms the individual's racial type is Caucasian and belongs to the Berber sub-group of Aegean type (aB) (according to Michalski-Hensel's typology). The face would have been oval and rather coarse-featured with a tawny or pinkish-brown complexion. The hair was dark brown, wavy and curly, pretty thick (bushy), the nose small, but broad with a high bridge profile and the eyes very dark with a Semitic type upper eye-lid, perceptible slight alveolar prognathism with full and fairly thick lips - for a Caucasian. The chin would have been slightly protruding.
At present, as in the past, this physical type is in general associated with Mediterranean area and in particular with its southern shores. The presence of this type in the territory of present-day Poland offers proof of migration from the South.
Post-cranial skeleton
The skeleton is relatively complete although some bones had been destroyed in situ as a result of erosion, while another part was damaged during excavation, while other bones (phalanxes, carpal bones) have not been recovered at all. Missing parts have been most likely dispersed by animals, as evidenced by numerous burrows in the vicinity of the grave. The overall morphology is rather delicate and typically female. Except for one case described below, no major changes or distinct pathologies have been recorded. Bone surfaces have been eroded by the action of soil organisms.
The spinal column: damaged portions of the cervical region, the middle part of the pectoral region and last lumbar vertebrae (only the external core part of the L5 region has survived). The sacrum is preserved only in fragments around its central part, preventing establishing its curve or the taking of detailed measurements. The 'axis tooth': height 14 mm, transversal width 9 mm, sagittal width 11 mm. Slight osteophytic changes in cervical cords, small ones of the same type in the pectoral region. The spinal column geometry is slightly displaced: light left-sided cervical scoliosis and faint right-sided lumbar/pectoral (mainly pectoral) scoliosis.
Clavicles strongly profiled, visibly asymmetric: the length of left one: 128 mm, right one: 124 mm. In this connection, the breastbone manubrium is distinctly asymmetric: width: 53 mm, height. 51 mm. The cord (without the xiploid process which has not been preserved): height. 53 mm, width. 27 mm.
The rib cage is represented by 35 fragments of ribs which represent practically all ribs. Slight cervical scoliosis and asymmetric clavicles correspond with the slightly asymmetric thorax, but due to the fact that only four moderately complete ribs are preserved, it is not possible to make any further observations.
Scapulae: right one broken, left one complete, markedly curved, thin: height 152 mm, width. 102 mm.
Humerus: left one with a supracondyloid foramen,
s: length 272 mm, sgt. 18 mm, trv. 16 mm, bic. 56 mm,
d: length 278 mm, sgt. 19, trv. 16 mm, bic. 56 mm.
Ulnas: length s, d - 232 mm.
Radiuses: length s - 204 mm, d - 209 mm.
The pelvis partially destroyed, but with typically female features, the pubic symphysis partially eroded, indicating one or two deliveries at most.
Femurs: right one with base parts broken away. Measures of the left one: length
376 mm, trv. 25 mm, sgt. 23 mm, bic. 68 mm.
Tibiae, notably profiled, sabre-shaped: q
s: length 312 mm, trv. 21 mm, sgt. 26 mm, bic. 63 mm,
d: 310 mm, trv. 18 mm, sgt. 29 mm, bic. 65 mm.
Morbid changes within the right knee-joint. The preserved right kneecap (the left one is missing) has a very untypical build - it is strongly robust in the sagittal direction up to the 28 mm (!). Height 39 mm, width. 52 mm. Its edges are very wide and its structure spongy. The distinct hypoplasia points at inflammatory changes in the kneecap itself since joint surfaces of the left femur and the left tibia do not show any malformations. Also two preserved fibulae have no morbid changes.
There is a complete set of ankle and tarsus bones, while from among carpal bones only four bones have been preserved, including two accreted ones of the left carpus (exhibiting clear inflammatory changes) which undoubtedly made movements of the hand difficult. More than half of metatarsus, metacarpus and finger bones has been lost (only 14 bones of metacarpus and metatarsus and 17 phalanxes are
preserved out of the total). Otherwise, no other pathological changes have been noticed.
A rib found under a pot faced to the north from the skull (feature no. 7) This bone represents a fraction of the right rib arc (between 6th and 8th?) with the length of 12 cm, belonging to a subadultus individual; that it belonged to a female is evidenced by its delicate construction and the arc width not exceeding 11 mm. It is probable that the rest has been cut off on the external surface. Unfortunately, the damaged surface and additional erosion do not allow a firm
diagnosis. However, there is no doubt that this rib comes from a different individual than that described above.
Karol Piasecki
Instytut Socjologii
Uniwersytet SzczeciÅski
ul. Krakówska 71
PL 71-017 Szczecin
e-mail: karolpiasecki@...'
I've uploaded the reconstruction of the inhumated woman's face (as
'reconstruction') in the File area.
Torsten