Wielbark culture

Oksywie culture and early Wielbark culture: red Expansion of Wielbark Culture: salmon pink, at the expense of Przeworsk culture: orange, purple at the expense of Jastorf culture Jastorf Culture: blue, light blue extension Przeworsk Culture yellow and orange, later only yellow

Ceramic with meanders

The Wielbark culture (after the eponymous locality east of the Vistula and Nogat ) to 1945 German brown wood - Willenberg culture in East Prussia, now Poland, was a also west of the middle Vistula estuary spreading archaeological culture dating from the 1st century BC to the 4th century. Presumably it forms an early settlement of the Goths.

Discovery and name

In 1874 an Iron Age burial site with 3,000 graves was discovered east of Nogat, a tributary of the Vistula River, between the Prussian villages brown wood, and Willenberg between the cities of Marienburg ( Malbork ) and Stuhm ( Sztum ). The following year, it was reported in the correspondence - Journal of the German Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory. The Willenberg culture was formerly classified as "Gothic - Gepid culture."

In Poland, the first name was preferred as " ostpommersch - Mazovia culture." The archaeologist Ryszard Woła̜giewicz (1933-1994), who explored several sites and described, introduced the concept Kultura Wielbarski. This designation took Herwig Wolfram and other scientists. My preference is that it is "neutral ," as it refers only to the locality and avoids ethnic definitions.

Characteristics

The Wielbark culture replaced in the last century before the Christian era the Oxhöft culture on the Vistula below Thorn ( Toruń ) and continue west to the Persante ( Parsęta ). For the beginning of the culture is characteristic that the cemeteries Oksywie culture were further used under fundamental change in burial customs. Men were buried in tombs body, women in urns.

The dead no weapons, but only clothing and jewelry as well as individual spores were placed in the grave, in contrast to previous and neighboring cultures. In a later phase, the culture spread west of the Vistula with stone circles similar to Scandinavian cultures of the time. The people of the Willenberg culture built stone -covered mounds, standing stones and paved areas. Typical to the metal using the Wielbark people: household and decorative items were often made of bronze, more rarely of silver, rarely of gold and iron.

Around the year 2000 (until 1945 Scharnhorst Lauenburg ) with a bronze cauldron found in graves in Eastern Pomerania Czarnówko at Lębork, are shown on the men with Suebian knot. The sites of the first phase are mostly located around the Baltic Sea flowing rivers, thus north of Pomerania Baltic Sea watershed / networks. Over time, the culture expanded in a southwesterly direction to the region Wielkopolska, stone circles not as far as the funeral rites. The elsewhere continuing Przeworsk culture was displaced normal. But the decisive factor was expansion to the southeast.

Spread of culture

In around 200 AD, the Wielbark culture reached today's Ukraine, during their mark on the lower Vistula River in the 3rd century slow considerably and suspend in whole in the course of the fourth century, which speaks for a complete migration of the corresponding population within three generations. At the same time Tschernjachow culture spread north-west of the Black Sea, which in its expressions had great similarity to the Wielbark culture, but also relations with the Zarubincy culture.

Interpretation

The beginning of the culture, the statement questioned Jordanes, the Goths had immigrated total from Scandinavia to the south coast of the Baltic Sea. In detail, researchers draw different conclusions but. In the recent research, it is often assumed that culture had developed without immigration locally and the immigration of the Goths from Scandinavia is just a myth. Other researchers assume that a small group of Scandinavians ( mentioned in the Getica Amali, although Amaler are attested not safe from the 4th century ) had migrated and had mixed with the native population.

Archaeological no immigration from Scandinavia is certainly detectable, which, saith among other matters to the origin story ( Origo gentis ) of Jordanes.