Late Bronze Age Weaponry

The study discusses and calls attention to assemblages that are recent victims of illicit metal detectoring in
Eastern Europe. The first one is a Ha B1 sword hoard, allegedly from Mátészalka (Hungary, Szabolcs-Szatmár-
Bereg County). The assemblage was looted in 2017. In less than a year, two of the finds have entered the
British antiquities market and they were sold under fake provenance. The second find could have been a late
Period V (Ha B3) elite burial. The looted assemblage has appeared on the domongol.org metal detectorist blog,
and it is allegedly originating from “Ternopil Oblast” (Ukraine). It contains a bell helmet with solar barge
decoration and a fragment of a unique Hajdúböszörmény-type situla, the parallels of which relate this find
to the Rivoli (Italy) burial and the metallurgical sphere of the Eary Iron Age.

Weaponry in South Arabia has encountered different phases in order to adapt to the environment constraints and to follow the technical breakthroughs. The steps of this development, from the dawn of history to nowadays, have left a mark in the unconscious of the people living in the Najrân area (Saudi Arabia). Since the ancient times, thousand of rock carvings have been left by travelers, caravans and mercenaries passing through the region. Within the “Oasis de l’Arabie déserte” research project, the Saudi-French mission in Najrân started in 2006 an extensive survey of these petroglyphs. The first results of this research shed new lights on the desert margins of South Arabia, a region for a long time neglected by scholars. But how can one compare the weapon iconography found on these rocks to the archaeological finds, with the aim of defining its chronology and meaning? The present study attempts to describe the evolution of weapons in the petroglyphs found in Jabal al-Kawkab and Jabal al-Qâra area, from the oldest types to the firearm revolution.

The study discusses a Late Bronze Age (Br D-Ha A) spearhead with wooden shaft from the territory of Serbia (Kikinda, Vojvodina Province). This rare find was analyzed by different non-destructive analytical methods (PGAA, XRF, Neutron imaging, X-ray imaging) for documenting and characterizing its wooden and metal parts.

The present paper deals with two Late Bronze Age swords discovered in or in the close vicinity of a settlement near Székelyudvarhely, Hargita County, Romania. Beside the swords, which are known from the archaeological literature a few Gáva pottery is presented too, unpublished until now. The settlement and the weapons can be dated to the Ha A-B1 period.

In diesem Beitrag wird erstmals ein im Rahmen einer Aufsammlung 2010 und einer anschließenden Ausgrabung 2012 geborgenes spätbronze-/urnenfelderzeitliches Fundensemble einer breiteren fachlichen Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt und einer ersten wissenschaftlichen Auswertung unterzogen. Die Entdeckung von einigen Bronzeobjekten bei Bauarbeiten im Jahre 2010 in Wupping bei Tarsdorf führte zu einer archäologischen Nachuntersuchung 2012, bei der weitere Einzelfunde geborgen sowie die wenigen Überreste von drei Bestattungen dokumentiert werden konnten. Das Fundmaterial setzt sich neben einigen weiteren Objekten aus zahlreichen Funden zusammen, bei denen es sich wohl um Wagenbronzen handelt, einigen Waffen in Form von Schwertern und Lanzen sowie Armringen. Da die vermutlich als Wagenbronzen zu bezeichnenden Funde alle ohne Fundzusammenhang angetroffen wurden, kann nicht entschieden werden, ob es sich bei diesem Ensemble um die Überreste eines spätbronze-/urnenfelderzeitlichen Wagengrabes oder aber um ein sogenanntes Grabdepot handelt. In jedem Fall wird man die Funde von Tarsdorf im Kontext der Hart an der Alz-Gruppe und anderen Funden von Wagen der Spätbronze-/Urnenfelderzeit diskutieren müssen. Die direkte Nähe zum 1924 entdeckten Fund von Staudach zeigt neben anderen Komplexen, dass es sich bei den Funden von Tarsdorf um keine isolierten Funde im Innviertel handelt. Vielmehr deutet sich mit den Funden von Tarsdorf und anderen Fundplätzen in dieser Region die Partizipation an großräumigen Netzwerken und Austauschbeziehungen in der späten Bronzezeit an. Die Neuentdeckungen von Tarsdorf sind dabei im Kontext einer wiederauflebenden Archäologie im westlichen Oberösterreich zu sehen, einer archäologisch lange Zeit vernachlässigten Region, die nun wieder stärkere Beachtung findet.

EXTENDED CALL FOR PAPERS - 19th OF MAY

The University of Bradford is proud to host the 20th Iron Age Student Research Symposium (IARSS). The symposium will be held between the 31st of May and the 2nd of June, with papers, posters and presentations, followed by a guided visit to the Hull Museum on the 3rd of June.
IARSS is a research student focused conference, providing an opportunity for students to share their work, network and collaborate with others. This event is open for contributions from postgraduate research students and new researchers, however, Master students are also welcome to submit and participate in the conference. Although IARSS is promoted as an Iron Age conference, contributions from colleagues studying or working within related periods, such as the Late Bronze Age and Roman Iron Age are also welcome. IARSS has traditionally focused on Iron Age Britain, however we welcome contributions from those colleagues examining the Iron Age elsewhere in the world, including, but not limited to, Ireland, the European continent and the Near East.

For colleagues interested in participating, please submit an abstract between c.250-300 words and 5 keywords related to your research. Presentations should be 15-20 minutes long and in English. Posters may be bilingual but they must be understandable to English speakers and an abstract in English must be provided.

Abstracts should be sent to:
iarss2017@gmail.com until the 19th of May.

Izvleček Regionalni muzej v Doboju hrani z ledine Krčevina iz Paležnice Donje depo 64 bronastih predmetov v skupni teži 7115 g. Sestavljajo ga napadalno orožje (sulična ost, bodalo, sekira), orodje (srpi) in odlomki ingotov, med katerimi izstopa robni del ingota oxhide. S svojo sestavo se depo navezuje na panonsko-karpatski žarnogrobiščnodobni delavniški krog, časovno pa se uvršča v stopnjo Ha A1 oz. v drugo stopnjo žarnogrobiščnodobnih depojev Bosne in Hercegovine po kronologiji Petra Königa. Ključne besede: Bosna in Hercegovina, bronasta doba, kultura žarnih grobišč, Ha A1, depo, okrašene sulične osti, bodala, tulaste sekire, gumbasti srpi, jezičastoročajni srpi, ingoti oxhide, planokonveksni ingoti Abstract The Regional Museum in Doboj contains a hoard from Krčevina meadow at Paležnica Donja consisting of 64 bronze objects with a total weight of 7115 g. It consists of offensive weapons (spearhead, dagger, axe), tools (sickles), and fragments of ingots, including the edge section of an oxhide ingot. In terms of its composition, the hoard is related to the Pannonian-Carpathian Urnfield Culture workshop circle, and is placed chronologically in the Ha A1 phase or the second phase of the Urnfield period hoards of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the chronology of Peter König.

In 2014-2015, two hoards and 10 other solitary finds of bronze items have been discovered on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, accidentally or by means of illegal metal detection. They come from the vicinity of villages of Volodeni, Rudi, Bulăeşti, Susleni, Furceni, Ivancea, Bălăbăneşti, Scoreni, Fundul Galbenei, Haragîş and Sadîc. One of the hoards and a separate item (a dagger) is kept in the collection of the Historical and Ethnographic Museum in the city of Comrat. The rest of the items are held in private collections. The spectrum of bronze finds includes tools, weapons, adornments, and parts of horse harness. Some of these types are well known and are encountered quite oft en in hoards (socketed axes of the Râşeşti, Casimcea, and Gemzse types; rounded plaques; daggers of the Eastern type), while others are rarely found (a fibulae of the Passemanterie type, twisted necklaces, a cheekpiece with cone-shaped ends, spearheads of the Sejma type). The presented items are dated from the Middle Bronze Age to the HaB3 period; most of them dates to the BrD-HaA1 period.