Paradny pas ze złotymi okuciami z grobu III z Wrocławia-Zakrzowa
The luxurious belt with gold fi ttings from grave III in Wrocław-Zakrzów

Author(s): Renata Madyda-Legutko, Marzena J. Przybyła
Subject(s): Archaeology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Jerzy Kolendo; archaeology; Poland; Europe; University of Warsaw; Polish Academy of Sciences
Summary/Abstract: In the article, dedicated to the memory of Professor Jerzy Kolendo, the authors deal with the issue of thegold strap fi ttings from grave III in Wrocław-Zakrzów, dated to the last part of the 3rd century. These are fourtongue-shaped strap-end fi ttings and four gold buckles with an oval frame, decorated with an ornament made witha punch. They were found in the north-east corner of the grave pit in the bronze bowl E-84 together with otherobjects (Figs 2, 3a–d, 4:1–4). Only a few analogous specimens from the area of Central-European Barbaricum, datedto phase C2, can be found for these fi ttings. However, in the 3rd and 4th centuries buckles with oval frames andtongue-shaped strap ends were common in the late-Sarmatian communities of Eastern Europe, on the lower DonRiver, in Transcaucasia and in Crimea (Fig. 5:1–7). Single tongue-shaped fi ttings from the 3rd and 4th centuriesare also known from the fi nds from the Sarmatian groups of the Great Hungarian Plain (Fig. 5:8–11).The similar width of the tongue-shaped fi ttings and the buckle chapes, as well as the size and shape of therivets fi xing them, suggest that they belonged to one set of strap fi ttings. They were not parts of shoe fastenings orspur straps as they were not found near the feet of the deceased and spurs are not in the inventory of the grave.However, it is highly probable that they were part of a wide belt that was fastened with four buckles (Fig. 6), justlike the belts with three buckles from the princely graves of Wrocław-Zakrzów (grave I) and Gommern, JerichowerLand (Fig. 1:1, 2). It should be emphasized that in phase C1b–C2 in the Barbaricum territories the custom of placinga belt beside the deceased in richly decorated burials has been confi rmed.Gold fi ttings from grave III in Wrocław-Zakrzów, interpreted as belt fi ttings, are an example of the contactsbetween the people buried in the necropolis in Wrocław-Zakrzów and the nomadic groups of the North Ponticregion. Through their construction and resemblance to the belt from Gommern, the belts from grave I and III alsoindicate that the elites from territories situated so far apart had similar forms of self-presentation, which werevisible not only in the similar structure of incoming imports from Roman provinces but also in the elements of theirclothing. Moreover, both in Wrocław-Zakrzów (grave III) and in Gommern the belts were deposited right next tothe place where gaming pieces were found. Possibly, in the symbolism of burial rituals both categories of objectswere associated with a similar area of life – recreation in the company of others, judging by the gaming pieces.

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