What shall we put in the grave? Archaeometric analyses of ceramics from a late Pre-Roman, Roman and Migration period cemetery in Malbork-Wielbark, northern Poland
Authors: Daszkiewicz Małgorzata , Łuczkiewicz Piotr , Kleemann Jörg , Kuzioła Aneta 
Published: January 2020

The necropolis at Malbork-Wielbark was excavated from 1927 to 1936 and 2008 to 2019. This burial ground is the eponymous site of the Wielbark culture. To date, over 2000 burials, both inhumation and cremation (pit and urn graves), have been recorded at this site, attesting to its continuous use from the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age (phase A1) to the early Migration Period (phase D1), with particular emphasis on the Roman Period. The cemetery site partially overlies and damages an earlier Iron Age settlement of the Pomeranian culture.

Laboratory analyses were carried out on 113 pottery sherds. The series of samples chosen for analysis reflected, as far as was possible, all relative chronological phases and vessel shapes. The pottery was analysed using a step by step strategy built on the results of MGR-analysis (i. e. the classification of samples based on their matrix type) and on a macroscopic assessment of clastic material. In addition, an estimation of chemical composition by portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) was available for each sample. After they had been classified, samples were selected for chemical analysis by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF), estimation of physical ceramic properties (open porosity, water absorption and apparent density), Kilb-Hennike analysis (K-H analysis), thin-section studies using a polarising microscope, a study of surface phenomena by RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging), thermal analysis (TG-DTG-DTA), X-ray diffraction analysis and functional properties analysis (water permeability and thermal shock resistance), as well as experimental estimation of magnetic properties.

The results of MGR-analysis carried out on ceramic samples taken from 113 potsherds revealed that all of the pottery was made from various non-calcareous clays with fine-grained iron compounds homogeneously distributed in the matrix. It was decided not to carry on determining/using MGR-groups, as nearly every sherd represents a different MGR-group. This means that these vessels were made during different production cycles. The differences in thermal behaviour between samples were attributed only to matrix-type groups. It can be concluded that 85 % of the total sherds were made from plastic raw materials of the same provenance, and that the same matrix-type groups occurred in all chronological phases. The percentage of vessels made of particular raw materials indicates a significant difference in the preferences of Pomeranian Culture potters and those of Pre-Roman Iron Age, Early Roman Period and those of the Late Roman Period, when one type of raw material disappears from use. This last period is also characterized by an increase in the number of vessels fired in a reducing atmosphere. Standardization is also evident in vessel-wall thickness, which falls within a narrow range of values, on the other hand combined with a large variety in grain sizes up to very large ones and with a wide range of open porosity values, which in turn points to a lack of care in the preparation of the ceramic body. Vessels that may have been non-local origin are noted in all chronological phases. Analysis of functional properties (water permeability and thermal shock resistance) revealed that the pottery deposited in graves included fully functional wares, such as cooking pots, as well as vessels intended solely as grave goods.

More than a few samples evidence the use of a slow-rotating potter’s wheel, and it is also possible that a template was used for forming vessel rims. However, there are very few examples of truly technologically advanced vessels. The technology is generally tailored to the desired type or form of vessel.