Tortoiseshell buckle

The silver fibula can serve not only as a decoration of the outfit but also as a practical element used to fasten robes and join elements of clothing. There are many variants of silver fibulae. The criterion for their classification are differences in design and forms of their individual elements – bow, spring or foot (end). These differences are of great importance for the dating of relics. The presented specimen has a one-piece bow, passing directly into the foot - the catch for the pin. Such fibulae occurred mainly during the developed stage of the Roman period (3rd century). Together with another, nearly identical silver fibula, it was found in a partially destroyed inhumation grave, discovered by accident in 1992. This grave also contained a silver pin with an ear, alternately twisted under the head, a bronze bucket-shaped pendant and a fragment of another such pendant, a fragment of a bronze band, two bronze rings, a fragment of a silver plate, and a necklace made of 11 glass and 29 amber beads. The grave was discovered in a built-up area. It is therefore impossible to establish whether it is a single richly furnished burial or the remains of a cemetery. The metal decorations can generally be associated with the Wielbark culture, which occupied most of Pomerania at that time. Currently, however, some researchers distinguish the so-called “Przyce group” or “Pyrzyce cluster” in Western Pomerania. It is a cultural unit with features of the Wielbark culture, but with a greater share of products known from the Elbe region.

Bartłomiej Rogalski