Broń jako wyznacznik prestiżu, rekwizyt rytuału oraz świadectwo kontaktów w Barbaricum w młodszym okresie przedrzymskim i w okresie wpływów rzymskich
Authors: Czarnecka Katarzyna 
Published: June 2021

Weapons as Sign of Prestige, Ritual Attribute, and Indicator of Mutual Contacts in Barbaricum in Late Pre-Roman and Roman Periods.
Not only had had weapons the practical, martial functions, but they had also played an important role in the construction and expression of the image, status in the society, identity, and mythology of the social category of warriors (Fig. 1). Swords and spears in legends and myths have their names and ‘personality’ (Fig. 2). Their symbolic functions explain the particular treatment of weapons in magic or ritual contexts, in burials or in bog offerings. Importance of weapons as indicators of social status, prestige, and also certain magical or religious content, is clearly visible in the rituals of the Germanic societies of Barbaricum in the Late Pre-Roman and Roman Period. The Przeworsk culture materials are highly suitable for such studies, as the burial rites of that culture involved depositing large numbers of weapons in graves. Another, complementary source of information, are written sources; most important among them is “Germania“ by Tacitus.For the Przeworsk culture population the main and most important part of military equipment was aspear. This is confirmed by the archaeological finds: spearheads are the most numerous militaria found in burials. According to “Germania“, weapons were treated as indicators of free warriors and strong carriers of symbolic meanings. That is why the heads of shafted weapons (spears and javelins) are often decorated. The types of ornamentation were adapted from Celts – richly decorated specimens are known from the La Tène culture (Fig. 3)– but, most probably, executed by local smiths (Fig. 4:1). Spearheads dated to the Roman Period, were often decorated with incised zigzags (Fig. 4:6). Agroup of artefacts with inlaid ornament of special signs and complicated motifs (circles, crescents, triskelions, triangles, double forks) are known from the Roman Period (Figs. 4:2–5). One cannot comprehend their meaning today, but the repetitiveness of certain motifs may indicate that this type of ornament was not accidental, but had aparticular meaning. Some of these signs are similar to Sarmatian tamgas, what could be aresult of various contacts and interactions with the Sarmatian people. Afew artefacts were equipped with runic inscriptions (Fig. 4:8), which could be aname of the owner, or name of the weapon, or of the smith, who manufactured it. Besides these spectacular ornaments, there are less visible but important marks placed on sockets. Some spearheads were provided with small holes on socket joints, which could have been used to fix some organic pennants (Fig. 4:7). The signs placed on heads were probably supposed to fulfil amagical, protective function, maybe increasing effectiveness of the weapon. The richly decorated spears probably also had aspecial use in some ritual practices, during gatherings, things, maybe weddings, and brotherhood pledges. They could have served as military standards.Shields were most probably also decorated, but organic materials – wood and leather – could survive only in very specific conditions e.g. bogs. From other sites only metal fittings are known. Ceremonial shields with bosses, grips or edge fittings made of precious metals, often with additional decorations, come from the graves of local aristocrats (Fig. 5:1). Interesting is the fact of decorating grips – that is the elements of ashield invisible from the outside (Fig. 5:2).Asword remained an elite, important, and, perhaps, expensive weapon. Celtic swords and scabbards were very richly decorated with ornaments of great aesthetic value, and at the same time having asignificant symbolic meaning, e.g. adragon pair motif, which, probably, performed an apotropaic function, but could have also been asign of having belonged to aspecific elite of warriors, asymbol of rank and military successes (Fig. 6). Roman swords were sometimes decorated with inlay – mainly depictions of deities: Mars and Victoria, or symbols of victory, such as wreath or palm branch, clearly visible only by the person holding the sword. They probably served as amagical protection (Fig. 7:1, 2). One of the most interesting motifs reflecting aspecific aesthetics and symbolism of the military elite are stylised representations of ravens. Like other animals, which accompany the battle, feeding on the dead, they were guides on the way to Valhalla (Figs. 7:3, 4).Despite the obvious differences in the panoply of warriors of various groups or tribes, recorded as differences of archaeological cultures, it is difficult to clearly state to what extent the type of used weapons could be asign of identity, belonging to aspecific ethnic group. An interesting proof that Roman armourers respect the preferences of their clients is aunique scabbard of unknown provenience, now in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz. It has arich figural decoration divided into fields, two of which: with agriffon and arider, are of east Celtic or Thracian origin. The other representations are in the Roman style: afigure of anude deity and arepresentation of an emperor (Fig. 8). It may be treated as aspecial gift produced in the Roman workshop for aCeltic or Thracian ally.In the armament of the Przeworsk culture, apart from the obvious imports from the Roman Empire, one can point to military items from other regions inside the Barbaricum. e.g. from Scandinavia. Exchange of weapons, ceremonial gifts, could result in acquisition of ‘foreign’ items. Inter-tribal contacts of military elites, mostly retinues, are confirmed also by the Tacitus’ Germania. An excellent example of the mobility of groups of warriors is the extremely interesting small grave field dated to the Late Pre-Roman Period, in Mutyn (northern Ukraine).Indication of contacts of the military elites are the ceremonial weapons clearly suggesting the high status of the owner/user. As an example can serve shields from the Early Roman Period with rich decoration of elaborated silver fittings known from the Przeworsk culture, northern Germany, Denmark, and Norway (Fig. 9).The association of certain types of military objects with specific regions has become the basis for attempts to recreate certain historical events. This is especially true of finds from Danish bog deposits in which, at least in some stages of use, weapons of the defeated invaders were laid.An extremely interesting example of aunique weapons, that allows to trace long--distance contacts, are very specific spearheads, the blades of which were made of fragments of broken swords mounted in acut socket. The manufacturing technique itself – inserting the blade into aslot cut in the socket – is known from Hunnic-Sarmatian sites from southern Russia, Caucasus, and western Kazakhstan (Fig. 10). Re-making asword into aspearhead possibly had more than just apractical reason – the aim was to preserve the damaged sword, perhaps avaluable heirloom. Reforging of abroken precious sword into aspear is mentioned in the saga of Gísli Súrsson.Weapons played important role in burial rites, as an indicator of social status, and had perhaps also acertain magical or religious meaning. Avery interesting procedure – intentional depositing of the remains of one deceased inside amuch earlier grave – was observed in the burial ground in Oblin, distr. Garwolin. The care taken in burying agreat warrior/leader, whose rank is confirmed by the exceptional set of weapons, in aburial of agreat warrior/leader from the earlier times, indicates the importance of the military elites (Fig. 11).The military equipment deposited in graves was, in accordance with the burial rites, destroyed, yet the form and degree of the damage was different (Fig. 12). The phenomenon of ritual destruction of weapons has been the subject of many analyses and various attempts have been made to explain it e.g. as practice to avoid stealing valuable items or to protect from the coming back of ‘living dead’. The most likely explanation is ‘killing’ the object, so that it could advance to the afterlife with its owner.Another interesting ritual observed at the Przeworsk culture cemeteries is sticking spearheads (originally spears) in the walls or bottom of grave pits or piercing the burned bones in an urn. The meaning of such ritual is not clear: maybe it was away to connect the dead with the underground realm of the death or prevent them from coming back as ‘walking dead’? Another, less convincing possibility is that the shafts of the stuck spears were left above, to mark the grave (Figs. 13, 14:1–5). Arare practice was observed in the Late Pre-Roman time – asword was carefully placed along the very edge of the grave pit, forming aborder between the filling of the grave and sand outside (Fig. 14:6). Shields also served as important element of aburial rite. Shield-bosses were found, placed spike down beneath an urn or, in other cases, they covered the vessel, what, probably can be understood as magical protection (Fig. 14:7–9). At the Przeworsk culture burial grounds shield-bosses were sometimes used as containers for remains of the deceased, small pieces of grave goods, and burned bones, so they functioned as urns (Fig. 15). Unique finds of helmets, one from Siemiechów, distr. Łask, other two from the cemetery Mutyn in Ukraine also served as urns (Fig. 16).As aresult of ritual treatment should be interpreted finds of fragments of broken weapons deliberately placed in graves, often burials of small children. The apotropaic meaning of those artefacts in graves seems most obvious, however the pars pro toto interpretation is not impossible. In the cemetery in Opatów, distr. Kłobuck, in grave 1186, achild was furnished with niello inlaid box-shaped chape of Roman scabbard, which most probably was treated as an amulet (Fig. 17:1). In some cases the primary function of weapons was changed. In afew female burials the strips of the chain-mail with attached miniatures of shields and tools were found. They can be treated as parts of women’s attire, but it is more probable that ring-mail fragments were used as amulets (Fig. 17:2, 3).Another special treatment of weapons as the ‘rite matter’ are finds of offerings. Military equipment was deposited in bogs, lakes or rivers – and is interpreted as offerings for gods. Finds from rivers are not numerous, in most cases represented by single swords, some with scabbards and some without. Most probably this idea was adopted, among many others, from the Celts (Fig. 18).