A spiral epaulette of the Kujawski type

Elegant simplicity characterises this spiral armlet. The hoop is made of narrow, six-coil brown tape decorated with an original eyelet motif, combined with diagonal cuts and transverse grooves. The ends of the tape are bevelled and carefully worked at the same time. It is part of a hoard trove of bronze ornaments that Karl Sager, a farmer, found in his meadow in 1941. The published drawing made by Captain Poirot, a prisoner of the Prenzlau POW camp, shows that the original arrangement of the discovered objects was not accidental. Five spiral bracelets were strung on two wreath necklaces, with a tin hoop arranged on top of them. The water context and the intentional arrangement indicate that this was a sacrificial deposit. The find was transferred to the collection of the Pommersches Landesmuseum in Stettin (Polish: Pomorskie Muzeum Krajowe w Szczecinie; English: Pomeranian State Museum in Szczecin). It stayed there for only three years. In 1944, the hoard from Karków, along with other valuable relics, was evacuated deep into Germany. The relics returned to the Szczecin museum in 2009 due to the Polish-German exchange of old archaeological collections. The armlet and other ornaments from the hoard dated to the Early Iron Age, i.e., the Hallstatt period D (approx. 600/550-400/450 BC), are evidence of exceptional skills of prehistoric metal workers and their artistry. The great value of the exhibition and the excellent preservation of these artefacts make it possible to regard the deposit from Karkowo as one of the most valuable museum acquisitions. The significance of the hoard is also increased by the tin hoop, which belongs to very rare finds.

Dorota Kozłowska