A button-tourniquet, a  button with a cap

The bronze button, consisting of a ring with four legs and a cap with a conical appendage, is an exciting find. This hidden object was mounted in the halter - the main part of the horse harness or tack, where it played the role of an ornament and an element securing the place where the bridle thongs meet. It was part of a unique treasure discovered in 1884 in a swamp. It included parts of a horse tack, moulds for casting axes, fibulae, a magnificent razor and destructs of some bronze and iron products. The marshy context of the hoard should be emphasised, which may indicate its unique connection with beliefs and sacrificial offerings. The deposit ended up in the museum collection in Szczecin and was kept there until August 1944. Due to the approaching front and Allied air raids, it was evacuated deep into Germany. It only returned to Szczecin in 2009 thanks to the Polish-German exchange of old archaeological collections. Most of the exhibited items are characteristic of the Hallstatt culture, whose name derives from the cemetery in Hallstatt, Austria. Alongside four similar specimens from the same hoard, the presented lump is considered an import from the upper Elbe basin. Such relics belong to the unique finds in Poland.

Dorota Kozłowska