New passementerie fibulae from Kesztölc and Dunaújváros in Transdanubia
Creators: name: Tarbay, Gabriel
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2014
Subjects: Archaeology

description: The study discusses the passementerie fibulae in relation to three new finds of this jewellery type from Transdanubia. The pieces from Kesztölc (County Komárom–Esztergom) came to light in 2008 as part of a large Late Bronze Age hoard (Ha A1–A2) containing over a hundred artefacts (Figs 1–3). Gergely Radovics, a local collector, presented the inds he had discovered with a metal detector to archaeologists Gábor V. Szabó and Gábor Lassányi. The assessment of the inds is in progress as part of my MA thesis. The other fibula comes from Dunaújváros (County Fejér). It was discovered in the museum’s collection by Gábor Váczi during his research in the museum. The ind circumstances of the fibula are not known (Fig. 4). The Dunaújváros fibula and fibulae 1 from Kesztölc can be assigned to Type A3a, while fibulae 2 can be grouped among the Uzsavölgy type fibulae in view of its morphological traits. The date of the deposition of the Kesztölc hoard (Ha A1–A2) is based on various artefacts in the hoard, such as socketed axes with a Y rib, belt plaques, thirty-eight rings with pointed terminals, mount of a Žatec type cista. The Dunaújváros fibula can be broadly dated to the Ha A1–Ha B1 period. The study offers an overview of previous research and a typo-chronological assessment of the finds (Figs 7–8), as well as a catalogue of the known types (Lists I–XV) and a distribution map of the currently known fibulae from the Carpathian Basin and neighbouring regions according to type (Figs 9–10). Knowing that this region is adversely affected by the activity of illegal metal detectorists and the illicit antiquities trade, I also searched for passementerie fibulae offered by Western European and American auction houses, and I also presented the little-known pieces in foreign collections (Figs 5–6). Passementerie ibulae evolved in the Carpathian Basin during the Ha A period. A rich variety of these fibulae is known from Moldavia to Germany and from Poland to Serbia. The greatest concentration can be noted in the Transdanubian distribution of the Urnield culture and in the Lausitz distribution. All basic forms had appeared by the Ha A1 period. Most of the known pieces can be dated to this period and the ensuing Ha A2 period, while the various formal sub-variants appeared in the Ha B1 period. The latest pieces were deposited in the Ha B3 period (Fridoling). The internal chronology of the passementerie fibulae is uncertain because it is based on the synchronisation of the bronze hoard horizons of Central Europe. This stylistic chronology is in part outdated and in part unreliable. A new, revised chronology of the entire Carpathian Basin will no doubt inluence the dating of these fibulae too. It seems to me that the current, over-complicated typological scheme is unnecessary and that there is no need to further sub-divide the unique pieces, such as the ones from Dobrinci, Fridoling, Pobrežje and Sviloš, and the improved/modiied versions, such as the ones from Kuzmin, Manín, Stupava and Porta-Bohemica-Labe, into further sub-types; these artefacts should be regarded and treated as unique pieces. Most of the known passementerie fibulae were part of a hoard or were stray finds, while the few pieces originating from burials (Heršpice, Krásna Ves, Partizánské, Jasenica, Kotešová, Chotín, Békásmegyer, Senta, Celldömölk-Sághegy) are usually fragmentary. Little is known about how they were worn owing to the period’s cremation rite. In my view, there are few well-documented and anthropologically analysed graves for linking these fibulae to a particular gender, and thus I would challenge their interpretation as part of the female costume<br>jewellery. Even though a prestige role is often accorded to passementerie fibulae, there is no conclusive evidence to support<br>this. However, it must in all fairness be noted that the manufacture of these jewellery pieces called for a complex metallurgical chaine opératoire and advanced metalworking skills. Passementerie fibulae fall into the same jewellery category as gold ornaments. Diadems, inger-rings, passementerie necklaces and spiral bracelets, whose production called for superior metallurgical knowledge. Both intact pieces and fragmentary ones come from the period’s major sites such as Velem and Sághegy. It seems to me that passementerie fibulae of Types B and C were part of the elite’s possessions because of their size, sophisticated manufacturing technique and rarity. This study will hopefully provide a irm basis for further studies on how Late Bronze Age fibulae were worn. There are still many unresolved questions regarding passementerie fibulae; the re-publication of old inds would enable an analysis of this artefact type based on exact metrical data. New, well-documented grave assemblages will no doubt contribute to a better understanding of the function of this remarkable jewellery type and to answering a set of perplexing questions.