Zoomorphic vessel

This small vase represents one of the most characteristic forms of pottery of the Wielbark culture in the period between the 2nd half of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Vases of this type were placed in graves as vessels accompanying both cremation and inhumation burials. They are also found in pottery sets discovered within settlements. The presented vessel comes from the Bonin cemetery and this is the only information about this finding preserved in the archives of the Archaeology Department of the National Museum in Szczecin. The circumstances which brought the vase to the museum collection are also unknown. The Wielbark culture is one of the main archaeological groups of the Roman period in Poland. Its name comes from the town of Wielbark, located near Malbork, where an extensive burial ground of this culture was discovered. Apart from the characteristic pottery forms, it is distinguished by a very high level of metallurgy of non-ferrous metals, especially goldsmithing. No iron objects, including elements of armament, have been discovered on bi-ritual Wielbark cemeteries. This culture is identified with the Germanic tribes of the Goths and Gepids.

Bartłomiej Rogalski