Archaeologia Polona WV, 1962 PL ISSN 0066-5924 LUCJA AND JERZY OKULICZ THE LA TENE AND THE ROMAN PERIODS IN NORTHERN MASOVIA AND IN THE SOUTHERN MAZURIAN AREA IN THE LIGHT OF NEW DISCOVERIES Until recently, the borderland between Masovia and Prussia was neglected by archaeologists. Excavations were carried out in several cemeteries, dating from the Early Iron Age and from the period of the Roman influences only in the last years. (fig. 1). Their results deserve special attention, considering that this region differs from other parts of Poland. One of the processes which can be traced only in this region of Poland is the continuity of settlement and of various cultural forms, Some backwardness, due to the fact that Northern Masovia is situated on the outskirts of cultural centres, and slower progress in the development of this region resulted in the tendency of keeping to old forms, tendency particularly accentuated in pottery and in the burial-rite. A characteristic feature of the cemeteries of this region, dating from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages, is the use of various big stone structures, while building the graves. In the Bronze Age these were barrows of the Zeiibok type? belonging to the Lusatian culture. In the light of present research, barrows containing collective cremation burials were dominant in the early Iron Age. ‘Two cemeteries of that period, at Grodki, distr. Dzialdowo (site 7) and at Laczyno Stare, distr. Przasnysz, provided the first documented material on the construction of the barrows from the Early Iron Age in Northern Masovia. The cemetery at Grodki consisted of several dozens of barrows out of which only two were explored. Each of them con- tained a stone cover resting on a rectangular pavement on which urns were placed; they were separated from one another by stones forming a cist. Four graves were discovered in the smaller barrow, twenty graves in the larger one. Barrows at Laczyno Stare # in a worse state of preservation than the above men- tioned ones, also differed in structure. A large rectangular stone cist in which © 1962 Ossolineum. Zaklad Narodowy im, Ossoliishich - Wydawnierwo, Wroclaw‘THE LA TENE AND THE ROMAN PERIODS IN NORTHERN MASOVIA 97 @ Early la Téne om. Early Roman em. Fig. 1. Map showing sites of the La ‘Tene and the Roman periods excavated in Northern Masovia in the recent years. (Drawn by W. Nabrdalik) nineteen cremation burials were revealed, was discovered in one of the Laczyno Stare barrows. Each of four remaining barrows was lined with stones, forming a ring or a rectangle (fig. 2:1), their SW. corner, however, was rounded in all cases (fig. 5:1). ‘These barrows contained single pit graves; in one of them, instead of a grave, a thick layer of the remains of a funeral pyre was discovered. ‘The rectangular pavements inside the barrows at Grodki and type II of the barrows at Lqczyno Stare were both oriented SN. Judging from the objects found there, the Grodki barrows can be dated to the transition between the Hallstatt and the La Tene periods; the dating of the type I barrows at Eaczyno Stare is similar; type Il, in spite of scanty finds, is probably of a little later date. ‘The grave construction did not undergo any essential change either in the Late La Téne period or in the early period of Roman influences; the cists and the mounds of the barrows disappeared but the stone rings and the rectangles along flat pit graves (fig. 3) or urn-containing ones (fig. 4) still remained. Cemeteries with stone rings along Late La ‘Téne and Early Roman graves were discovered at Grodki, distr. Dzialdowo, site 34 and at Niedanowo, distr. Niedzica.> Similar Early Roman stone rings were discovered at Brzeéno, distr. Ostroteka.® Rings (fig. 2:2) and rectangles (fig. 5 :2,) of stones.288 LUCA AND JERZY OKULICZ Pg f Fig. 2. Northern Masovia. 1 — Laczyno Stare, district of Przasnysz. Circumference of Barrow IV from the Early La Tene periods 2 — Rost, ditit of Ostotts, Stone Ring No. 37 fronythe Early Roman period. (Drawn by W. Gawrysiak) were revealed in a vast cemetery at Rostki, distr. Ostroleka.7 The rectangles discovered there had the same SN, orientation as the La Téne rectangular barrows at Eaczyno Stare. The graves examined at Rostki are dating from the end of the Ist century to the middle of the 3rd century. We do not know any later graves with stones in this region. It was not until the Early Middle AgesFig. 3. Grodki, district of Dzialdowo, site 3, Early Roman pit-grave with many associated vessels Fig. 4. Grodki, district of Dzialdowo, site 3. Early Roman urn-containing grave Arehaeologia — 19290 LUCIA AND JERZY OKULICZ that the so-called Masovian graves with inhumations within rectangles of stones occurred there. The earliest of them, for instance at Gromice near Plock, are dating from the 9th century *, An IIth and 12th cent. cemetery was revealed at Laczyno Stare, at the same site where the La Téne barrows were discovered, In this cemetery some graves are similar in orientation and in stone structure to the rectangles dating from the Roman period. However, as long as we have an almost 600 years’ gap in our knowledge of grave structure, we cannot confirm J. Kostrzewski’s thesis that the structure of the early mediaeval Masovian graves originated from earlier ones. ® ‘The question of the local origin of stone rings dating from the Roman period was raised by E. Hollack and C. Engel.° D. Bohnsack ™ opposed them, being of the opinion that the stone rings were a trace of the Goths’ stay in this territory. In spite of distinct Scandinavian parallels, the local origin of these graves seems unquestionable in the light of our materials. ‘Thus in Northern Masovia we are dealing with an exceptional phenomenon: with the continuation of the grave forms from the Early Iron Age to the period of the Roman influences, while in the Venedian and ancient Prussian cultures of those times the transition from the La Téne graves to flat cemeteries of the Roman period occurred rapidly. In archaeological materials this fact makes an impression of an interruption in settlement and even of demographic changes. Observations of the grave structure are confirmed by pottery. Although the “standardization” of pottery forms of the period of the Roman influences covered Northern Masovia too, many La ‘Téne traditions lasted in secondary features of pottery, particularly in ornamen- tation; for example: pots with high necks and with plastic ornamentation (fig. 6 : 1 and 6) ovoid pots (fig. 6 : 3 and 8) and even those with convex bottoms, occurring commonly in this region in the La Téne period (fig. 6: 2, 3, 5, 10—12). A pattern of angles, particularly characteristic of the La ‘Téne pottery from this territory in the Roman period, occurs more often in this territory than in others of the Venedian culture (fig. 6 : 2,7 and 10). The problem of penetration and interrelations between the elements of the Pomeranian and Venedian cultures and of the Baltic culture is also important in this territory. The influences of these cultures in the La Téne period are visible in the grave structure and in the pottery. The characteristic combination of the elements of a stone cist or of a rectangular pavement with a mound of a barrow resulted in a rather specific burial-rite in this territory. The occurrence of the pots with convex bottoms, typical of the Baltic culture in the Early Iron Age, together with the pots with flat bottoms and similar in shape to those from the graves of the Pomeranian culture, shows that a zone of intermixed elements of both cultures existed in this territory. Nevertheless, we cannot link the region in question with one of these cultures, due to the existence of considerable dif- ferences. We may rather assume that in the Early Iron Age some peculiar set- tlement existed in Northern Masovia, their culture was under the influenceTHE LA TENE AND THE ROMAN PERIODS IN NORTHERN MASOVIA 99], Fig. 5. Northern Masovia. 1 — Laczyno Stare, district of Przasnysz. Circumference of rectan- gular Barrow III from the Early La 'Téne period; 2.— Rostki, district of Ostroleka. Stone Rectangle 26 from the Early Roman period. (Drawn by W. Gaw- rysiak) of both the Pomeranian culture and that of the East Prussian barrows. We cannot conclude yet on the ethnical character of the people forming this specific group. Neither the present stage of reserach nor the materials obtained allow us to make any suggestion in this matter.EARLY LA TENE PERIOD EARL¥ ROMAN PERIOD Fig. 6. Northern Masovia. Pottery from the Early La 'Téne and the Early Roman periods. 1,35 — Grodki, district of Dzialdowo, site 7; 2 — Lacayno Stare, district of Przasnysz; 6, 8, 10, 12 — Grodki, districit of Dziatdowo, site 3; 7 — Patuki, district of Ciechanéw; 9 — Niedanowo district of Nidzica. All pots "/1, of the originals. (Drawn by W. Gawrysiak)THE LA TENE AND THE ROMAN PERIODS IN NORTHERN MASOVIA 993 ‘The ethnical problem of Northern Masovia became clearer in the Late La ‘Tene period and in the period of the Roman influences. At that time the Prussian territory, which was Baltic ethnically, was cut clearly off with a sharp cultural border and by this fact the territory in question remained within the sphere of the Venedian culture. The above evidence of the continuity of settlement in this territory excludes the possibility of movements of population. Observations made on the location of the cemeteries in the vicinity of the village of Grodki near Dzialdowo provided additional evidence of the fact that the same ancient population lasted up to the period of the Roman influences. The widening valley of the Wkra—Dzialdéwka rivers served as a good pasture, and fairly fertile and light soil yielded rich crops. Six cemeteries on hills around the valley give evidence of the fact that a strong clan community established itself there. ‘These are Bronze Age barrows, the above mentioned vast cemetery dating from the Hallstatt and the La Téne periods (archaeological site 7), a large cemetery called “Zwierzyniec”, consisting of barrows and probably dating from the Iron Age (it had been described by E. Hollack, but is now completely destroyed), a single damaged barrow called “Zal” where, they say, urns in a stone cist were found and finally site 3 the “Lysa” Mountain where graves dating from the middle La Téne to the 2nd century occur and a late Roman cemetery was discovered on a neighbouring hill. Undoubtedly all these cemeteries were used by the same group of population for several hundred of years. Further research-work in this territory and the agglomeration of more material will enable us to provide better evidence of the problems dealt with in this article. We still have unsufficient data to draw a border line between the North Masovian cultural group and the neighbouring groups of the Venedian culture in the period of the Roman influences. It is also still too early to show definitely the differences between the middle Narew basin and the basins of the upper Whra, the Nida and the Orzyc rivers. The most important task: to find and to examine the traces of the settlements corresponding to these cemeteries is still to be done. NOTES. 1 J. Dabrowski, Dwa cmentarsyska hultury luéychiej w Zenboku, pore. Ciechandw [Two Cemeteries of the Lusatian Culture at Zefibok in the Ciechanéw District], “Materialy Sta- rozytne”, Vol. III, 1958, p. 85—114. 2 L. Okuliczowa, Cmentarzysko kurhanowe (stan. 7) w Grodkach pow. Dzialdowo [Bar- rows at Grodki in the Dzialdowo District (site 7)], “Rocznik Olsztyriski”, Vol. III, 1960, p. 45-72. 3 Excavations carried out by the authors in 1960.294 LUCJA AND JERZY OKULICZ 4 Excavations of the ‘‘Lysa’ Mountain (site 3) at Grodki were carried out by E. Hollack at the beginning of this century; in the years 1957—1959 the site was excavated by J. Okulicz LE. Okuliczowa. 5 From 1959, excavations are carried on by W. Odojowa. © Excavations carried out by R. Jakimowicz in 1926. Materials unpublished. 7 Bxcavations carried on by J. Okulicz from 1957. "In the period between the two World Wars the site was excavated by K. Golinek, who possession of plans and drawings of a Masovian grave discovered there. A sword found in this grave was described by A. Nadolski, Studia nad usbrojeniem polskim w X, XI i XI w. [A Study of the Polish Arms of the 10th, 11th, and 12th, Centuries), Léd 1954, p. 149, pl. II, 4. It is dated to the 9th cent. * J. Kostrzewski, Od mesolitu do wedréwek ludéw [From the Mesolithic to the Great Migrations Periods], in: Prehistoria ziem polskich, Krakbw 1939—1948, p. 325. 1 E, Hollack and F. E. Peiser, Das Graberfeld von Moythienen, Kénigsberg 1904, p. 811. 4D. Bohnsack, Die Germanen in Kreise Neidenburg unter Beriicksichtigung der neuesten Funde, “Altpreussen”, Vol. III, 1938, p. 67—79. 38 J, Kostrzewski, Stosunki miedsy kultura lusycka a baltycka a zagadnienie wspélnoty jeaykowe) balto-slowiariskiej (The Relations Between the Lusatian and the Baltic Cultures and the Problem of the Baltic-Slavonic Linguistic Community], “Slavia Antiqua”, Vol. V, 1956, p. 1—75.