A01_P02

Secrets of the iron. A Case-study of iron-objects from Nowe Brzesko (Lesser Poland) deposit.

Bulas J¹, Huels M², Michał Kasiński  M³, Okońska-Bulas M^1,3

¹Arch Foundation, Krakow, Poland, ²Leibniz-Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel, Germany, ³Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland

A rarely found iron tool group deposit was recently discovered at what needs to be considered a multicultural and multiphase site of Nowe Brzesko (Lesser Poland) along the Vistula River. In the past the site was occupied by different populations, oldest traces discovered date back to the Neolithic (approx. 6 - 2 thousand yrs BC). More numerous finds originate from the La Tène and Roman periods (e.g., Celts and representatives of the Przeworsk culture), as well as from the Middle Ages.

A group of several dozen metal objects were found on the surface within 1.5 m² at the topsoil. The artefacts discovered consists mainly of agricultural tools and were preserved in whole or in fragments. Lacking additional contextual and chronological evidence and having unspecific features, their chronology was initially assigned broadly from the Roman Iron Age to the late Middle Ages.

Radiocarbon measurements were conducted on four selected iron objects and allowed to relate the findings to the Late Roman period (i.e., 3rd – 4th century AD). Metallographic analyses on the metal objects were also carried out, indicating comparable production processes (i.e., the bloomary process), but may also indicate differences with respect to source material.

This study, one of the first examples of direct radiocarbon dating of Przeworsk culture iron objects, may open new research perspectives related to the economy of iron production within the late Przeworsk with respect to resources.