Tortoiseshell buckle

Gilded silver fibula from Świelino is a part of a hoard that was found under a boulder in 1904. It was discovered during construction works of a narrow-gauge railway from Bobolice to Świelino. The deposit was probably cult-related and originally contained four fibulae. The hoard was a part of a private collection before it was handed to the Museum in Szczecin. At the Museum, the fibulae had been conserved and partially reconstructed. At the end of World War II, the Świelino fibulae (together with the most precious objects from the Museum’s collection) were evacuated from Szczecin. They were found in Stralsund, although two were missing. Two identical fibulae returned to the Museum in Szczecin in 2009. The third item, unfortunately badly damaged, was found in 2016 in Mołtowa in a local manor, among other archaeological objects temporarily evacuated from Szczecin at the dusk of war. The impressive size of the presented fibula, its fine craft and rich ornaments (golden knobs, Sjörup style carved spiral ornaments, and a silver beaded wire) are quite remarkable. Such ceremonial fibulae occur mainly in the vicinity of the Rhine region, the middle Danube, and the upper Elbe, rarely in the Western Pomerania and Scandinavia regions. These fibulae can be dated to the late 5th century. Such ornaments correspond to the Rhine and Scandinavia regions, and similar types of ornament can also be found on objects from Öland and Czech Republic.

Monika Witek