Evidence for long-distance contacts at the turn of eras: A leontomorphic fibula from Kuyavia (Poland). A contribution to the study on the European family of lion-bow fibulae

Abstract

Abstract Located in the North European Plain and the heart of the Polish lands, the historic region of Kuyavia has long been an area where cultural communication and trade routes criss-crossed. This geographical characteristic had transformative effects on the region’s inhabitants of the Pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age, known as the Przeworsk culture. The attributes of a prehistoric society flourishing in a region of peripheral cross-roads are particularly manifest in the multiphase site of Gąski, where archaeological research began over 40 years ago. Among the site’s Iron Age artefacts, a leontomorphic (lion-bow) fibula from a child’s grave has been discovered but never before discussed in depth. Thus, we examine the current body of scientific and contextual evidence against a broader comparative and analytical background. This includes a review of all European specimens of such fibulae. As our analysis shows, they do not constitute a homogeneous group, but share a common origin in the area of historical Gaul. The decorative motifs on these fibulae rank them as “masterpieces of ancient craftsmanship”. Their varied archaeological contexts and dispersion across the European continent make them a fascinating family of artefacts in the study of cultural diffusion across the areas within and adjacent to the Roman Empire. The titular fibula from Kuyavia raises the questions of how such an artefact would find its long way here, and what its significance for the local communities might have been.