Blume type II viper bracelet

The serpentiform bracelet, classified as Type II according to Erich Blume, was crafted from a silver band richly decorated along almost its entire length and at the terminals. It was part of the grave goods from skeletal burial no. 16 at the Wielbark culture cemetery in Lubowidz (formerly Luggeweise), Pomeranian Voivodeship, near Lębork. The burial contained a second, nearly identical bracelet, along with two bronze fibulae of Almgren Variant 96, featuring triple comb-like extensions and gold foil applications, a bronze fibula of Almgren Variant 128, and a necklace of glass and amber beads. This type of grave assemblage was typical of female burials in the Wielbark culture, and serpentiform bracelets are now considered classic ornaments of this cultural tradition. Finds from the Lubowidz cemetery were first recorded in 1898 due to the presence of a working gravel pit at the site. For several years, these discoveries were catalogued by Eduard Stielow (active c. 1925–1946), director of the District Office of Social Welfare and county heritage custodian. Artefacts uncovered at the site in 1898, 1926, 1932, 1934, and 1938 were sent either to Pommersches Landesmuseum in Stettin or Westpreussisches Provinzial-Museum in Gdańsk. Some of these finds were published in the local journal Heimatkalender für den Kreis Lauenburg in Pommern. Systematic excavations were not conducted until 1938–1939, when they were carried out by Helmut Agde (1909–1940) on behalf of the museum in Szczecin. Over an area of 75 ares, Agde uncovered 308 graves, including 241 skeletal and 60 cremation burials. A comprehensive study of the site and its artefacts was later produced by Ryszard Wołągiewicz (1933–1994) of the National Museum in Szczecin, published in 1995 as a monograph. Bartłomiej Rogalski