Broadhead of javelin of variety A by Wołągiewicz

An iron javelin arrowhead, which can be dated to the 2nd - 1st century BC and associated with the people of the Oksywie culture, was found in Brzeźniak town in the Łobez poviat. The Oksywie culture, named after the village of Oksywie, inhabited mainly the area of Eastern Pomerania and lower Powiśle, as far as Ina river in Western Pomerania. The arrowhead was found near a cremation grave that was equipped with a unique wooden bucket that was also dated to the same period. Both of these features - weapons in male burials and cremation - are typical of burial customs of the people of the Oksywie culture. The presented javelin arrowhead is a typical element of a warrior’s armament of the 2nd-1st centuries Oksywie culture, very few of them were decorated. The basic equipment of a warrior also included a shield. Very rarely, single- or double-edged swords were found in men’s graves of the Oksywie culture. The inventory book of the Department of Archaeology of the National Museum in Szczecin states that the arrowhead was obtained “from the Hinz’s collection”. This probably refers to Heinz Hinz, a local amateur archaeologist who was active in the interwar period. Other military artefacts of the Oksywie culture were also found in the Brzeźniak area, including two iron one-edged swords (with one cutting edge), each with a different handle design. In addition, an iron double-edged sword, javelin arrowheads, including ornamented ones, and a bronze vessel dated to the Roman period, i.e., the 1st-4th centuries, also come from this area. The circumstances and context of the discovery of these items remain unclear. It is not known whether they come from one or several cemeteries.

Bartłomiej Rogalski