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Johann Peter Titz (Lat. Titius, 1619-1689), a professor of rhetoric at the Gdańsk Academic Gymnasium is known as an author of speeches, poems, rhetorical and historical writings. However, in 1676 he published an important (though less known) work on numismatics: Commentatio tertia, nummaria, de pecunia vetere ac nova, abaco tabulisque exhibita (Third, Monetary Commentary, on Old and New Money, Presented on a Plate and in Tables) as a signifcant part (320 pages) of a collection of treatises of more than 1,000 pages entitled Manuductio ad excerpendum. The aim of the paper is to present the content of the Commentatio tertia, nummaria and its ancient and early modern sources. The overall approach to the Titius’ study shows its practical nature (almost a third of the entire argument is devoted to attempts to reconcile the values of various ancient denominations and accounting units with contemporary coins) which seems to suggest that it might have been used by students viewing the coin collection in the Gdańsk library. A more thorough examination of the Commentatio alongside an analysis of the accounts of the seventeenth-century Gdańsk writer’s numismatic collection may contribute to determining to what extent numismatics were a permanent feature in the gymnasium curriculum in Gdańsk in the latter seventeenth century, and to what extent the youth (juventus) of the Academic Gymnasium, to whom Titius was addressing his work, really wanted to and could identify ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish coins.
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In thc tank dlscovered at Sarmizegctusa Regia. among thc archacologlcal 11nds. has becn found a socalled "disk-- which S!lOWS a hUlllan face on one side. This piece prescnts a Uacian origin. The lace'5 featurcs are presented in a seh'~lllatic styk of work: thc cyes arc rcpn:scnted by twn cclls. thc nose by a protuberancc in a trapcZllidal shapc. thc Illouth is n1lSsing. lInl()rtullateil. thc archaeological Icvel where this pleee has bcen fi.llind can't help us sa\ very precisel\ what the slgnifieatlon and the utilily of the pieee. But it IS out of Cjuestion that the "disk" rcprescnts a deity who had been adored bv Dacians. It is possibk that thc piccc \Vas uscd in blaek witehcrali OI' I'H practices of iniliation. This human fiIce could be a rcpresentatlon of the initiation-man itscJr. Thc person who understands thc knowlcdgc ami can dlscern them; who is thc bear,:r of a ditferent languagc. but \\'hol11 is I'Hbiddcn to tell thc sccrets to the others. Evcn il' \Ve can't offer a ckar answer eoncerning thc signification and thc dcstination of piecc. \Ve have considereel as a good thlllg to prescnt it bccausc oi' its uniquc statute 111 the Dacian world anei the small nUlllber ufthc reprcscntatlon ofhuillan Elce in the sUlTounding arca ofthe capital ofthe Dacian kingdolll
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The study of small-town houses is not a very common topic among researchers. The analysis of the development of the historical house "Panský dom" (literally house of nobility) in the town of Týnec nad Labem has been highly informative. The aim of the article is to show the individual development phases of house construction according to research into material and written sources. Reconstructions, the building use, as well as individual structural changes can be analysed from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century.On the basis of the research performed, it can be stated that the use and purpose of the building changed with each new owner, related to his social status (suzerain house; inn; house of reeve and aristocratic officers; uninhabited; house of a noble with a regular income that led to the construction of a dance hall; semi-agrarian farmers; the transformation to an apartment building and hotel; bakery; etc.). The function of the courtyard also adapted to the desires of the new owner and the quality of life the residents changed accordingly. The quality of life of its residents illustrates the ability to exploit the potential for the house (including loft, farm buildings in the courtyard, etc.), to express the fashion and trends of the particular period. The vision of the owner, the structural possibilities and especially the methods of modification that embody the fashion of the particular period can be appropriately illustrated. Individual structural modifications describe the ambitions and situation of the owners.In this case, it is not a "great" history, but it is a study of the traces of life left in the house that surrounded its owners. At certain points, general history overlaps with the micro-history of "Panský dom" and together they influenced the form of house construction. The research identified several building phases and reconstructions when the modus operandi accurately corresponded with the social status of the owners. The informative value grows from the early periods to the later periods, in proportion with the number of written sources, as well as the material source – the house itself.
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The term “Wedding party cemeteries” in oral tales and epic from Bosnia and Herzegovina describes deserted, unknown old cemeteries or certain tomb stones, mainly stone ones, for which people do not remember the time of their erection nor the deceased which were buried there. The oral tales about ’’wedding party cemeteries” tell that those are graves of Wedding party participants who met there a long time ago, and according to the old custom, fought with each other and lost their lives. In reality, in most cases these are medieval necropolis from 14th - 15th century, or some small Muslim village cemeteries from different periods of the Ottoman Empire. ’’Wedding party cemeteries” and oral tales about them can be found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as other territories in Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and some parts of Croatia.
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As a result of the archaeological research developed at the Roman settlement of Romula a fragment of a Roman pottery was discovered, which is nowadays preserved in the Museum of Caracal. Here the word ΓΑΔΑΤΗС was incised. D. Tudor considered it a Syrian anthroponym derived from the name of the god Gad, which lead to the formation of numerous Syro-Palmyrean anthroponyms. This opinion was shared by all those who, up to the time being, inserted this graffito in various epigraphic corpora of Dacia, considering it as further evidence of the Syrian presence in Roman Dacia. Yet, the supporters of such a viewpoint did not take into account all the available data which allows us to assert that Gadates is definitely an Iranian anthroponym attested on other sources as following: Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, The Letter of Darius to Gadatas, the Elamite Ka-da-da inscription discovered in the Persepolis fortifications, a Greek inscription from Delos and another Greek inscription from Antiphellos in Lycia pertaining to the Roman period. Xenophon’s Gadatas and the one mentioned in the Letter provide the Iranian character of the anthroponym. Within the Letter, Darius specifically name Gadatas ‘(his) slave’. We encounter this term in the Old Persian variant of the Behistun inscription as comprised in the collocation mana bandaka, meaning ‘my subject’ or ‘my servant’. It exclusively refers to the highest ranked Iranian individuals in the proximity of the Great King. Gadatas anthroponym is probably ahypochoristic derived from Bagadata, a very widespread name in the pre-Islamic Iranian world, having the same meaning with the Greek Theodotos and the Slavic Bogdan, i.e. ‘the Gift of God’. We do not know precisely where Gatates of Romula came from. He could belong to Syria as well, where the Iranian anthroponyms were natural, as the land had been subjected to the Iranian rule for more than two centuries.
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In the Balkan archaeologies, ethnic identity has been traditionally treated as a stable and monolithic category, readily recognizable in the material culture. The issue of "ethnogenesis" of the Palaeo-Balkan "peoples" is the dominant topic and the basic research subject in culture-historical archaeology, today regarded as the consequence of the modern European nationalisms. Starting from the constructivist point, the paper seeks to examine the interpretations of ethnicity in the Balkan Iron Age, on the example of the so-called "early Classical settlements" – a series of mutually very similar fortified settlements located in the vast lands of the Balkan hinterland, today in the territory of several modern states. These settlements are broadly dated into the period from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BC, and have traditionally been interpreted as the final phase of the ethnogenesis of the Palaeo-Balkan communities, supposed to have been living in "tribal states", whose population has been recognized as "people" or even "nation". In the traditional literature, the ethnic characteristics have been readily recognized, projecting directly the modern socio-political structures onto the communities of the past that could have been founded on completely different group identity or political organization. The paper deals with the issue of the political aspects of these interpretations in variousBalkan countries, favoring certain Palaeo-Balkan communities, and an attempt is made to contextualize these nationalistic narratives into the present.
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The authors discuss the issue of presence of vessels in the inventory of an early-medieval warrior. The goal was to answer a question of to what extent this category of artifacts belonged really to non-military accessories. The source basis was constituted by 106 burial sets, equipped with military artifacts and containing vessels, recorded at burial grounds from Polish lands, utilized in the period of 10th – 13th centuries. Basing on the find overview, three basic groups of vessels were distinguished: wooden vessels (a bucket, a scoop, and others), clay and metal ones (bronze bowls). The discussion included also leather vessels, only hypothetically present in the graves. The authors express an opinion, that all of the mentioned vessel categories could have been used by early- Medieval warriors. Material, shape and technical parameters of the buckets makes them especially suitable for this role, although basing on the data present we cannot unambiguously identify these finds as related to riders. They could have been used by any military formation. The smallest specimens were used as drinking mugs, larger ones were used mainly for storing of food or as containers of liquids, subsequently poured to smaller vessels. The largest ones, although not numerous, could have been used for horse watering. A small number of other types of wooden objects in the graves with military artifacts does not allow any further discussion. Ceramic vessels were probably used ad hoc as mugs during military expeditions. Miniature specimens were included in personal inventory, while larger specimens probably followed the army transported on wagons. Bronze bowls were included in grave sets containing horse equipment, caparison elements and prestigious weapon elements. All this suggests, that they were used (as vessels for washing hands) by the representatives of the contemporary social elites, serving most probably as riders. Considering the luxurious character of the bowls, however, we have doubts about practical usage of this category during military expeditions. No sources exist that would prove the use of leather vessels by the warriors. The performed analysis excludes the possibility that the vessels found in graves could have been used for liquid transportation, since all of them, independently on their type, were open in form. They could, however, been used on camps, as vessels for consumption of meals and fluids. Probably most of the analyzed vessels were the warrior’s property.
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Uwagi na temat budownictwa warownego zakonu niemieckiego w późnośredniowiecznych Prusach
The article constitutes a collection of remarks concerning military aspects of the construction and functioning of the Teutonic castle in Bezławki (Bayselauken, Bäslack) in the last decades of the 14th century. Speculations included in the article refer to opinions expressed by the authors of the collective monograph about the late medieval settlement complex in Bäslack published in 2013. It presents the findings of archeological research in the castle and the village in the years 2008-2012. Remarks presented in the article concern three out of six problems which are considered the most essential. While it goes beyond doubt that the castle played an important defensive role, the hypothesis of it being a “fortified camp” for the army during military actions of the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians and Ruthenians has been undermined. It is not possible to consider it to play a military role on a significant strategic level, as do the authors of the monograph of 2013. In the second part of the article the author undermines the hypothesis about the “systematic” character of the complex of fortifications situated on the eastern Prussian border. If the castle in Bäslack was indeed part of some defensive system, it could operate on the local level and consist of an insignificant number of elements including longitudinal fortifications constituting the so called “Landwehr”. The next issue addressed by the author was a problem of the typology of the term “wildhaus”. As in the 14th century the term connoted the location of the fortification on the border of the forest, the author shows a far-reaching morphological diversity of fortifications on the eastern outskirts of the Prussian state, which were or could be classified as “wildhauses”. Thus, a “wildhaus” cannot be classified as a morphological type of a fortification. The typology of fortifications based on the morphological criteria cannot be connected with the typology based on the administrative and terminological criteria. Archeological examination of the Bäslack fortification evinces its major cognitive potential and makes us aware of how little is known about the functioning of minor fortifications in late medieval Prussia. Further research in this field belongs to one of the most important elements of historical science in the Prussian regional dimension and related branches of science.
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In the spring of 1967, at the village Köröstarján (Tărian), lying close to the western border of Romania, in the vicinity of the town Nagyvárad (Oradea) on the right bank of the river Sebes-Körös graves were found during the extraction of sand pits on the hill called Csordásdomb (Fig. 1). Rescue excavations were started in April of the same year by N. Chiodosan and D. Ignat, who opened altogether 41 graves. Apart from graves dated to Celtic, Sarmatian and uncertain periods, there were 12 Hungarian burials of 10–11th centuries (Fig. 2). The former 10–11th century cemetery must have contained much more graves as the excavations could not delimit the extent of the cemetery in any directions. The documentation concerning the excavations remained also in a deficient state. Thus it is very difficult to draw conclusions on the order of the burials. The graves were oriented, with minor divergences, to the west, with the exception of grave No. 29 oriented with the head facing south. Several of the graves were disturbed in the remote past. Horse harness was found in two graves (21, 29) and remains of a horse skull in one (this latter was a robbed grave, see Fig. 3/7). In grave No. 21 (Fig. 3/5) an arrowhead made of iron was found. This was the only grave with arms among the grave-goods. On the basis of the finds, all of the graves could be dated to the 10th century with one exception. Probably they started to use the cemetery before the middle of the 10th century and it was continued in this function till the end of the century. The only exception is one skull buried separately dated by a denar of Ist (Saint) László, King of Hungary in 1077–1096 (Fig. 3/2). According to the opinion of the author, this skull was dug into the already long forsaken cemetery by the end of the 11th century
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The rich material of bronze items produced by local masters on the territory of medieval Latvia testifies to a high level of metalworking skills. The diversity of artefacts increased during this period, as imported objects were often used as samples for local imitations. Bronze bowls are part of the applied arts that flourished in the course of these two centuries; they are common in various European regions and have caught the interest of art historians not so much due to their form but because of the iconography of their engravings. There was quite a high demand for such bowls and the numbers found continue to grow in excavations, even if their origins and function remain unclear. Another complex issue is that of the relationships between the paradigm-setting centre and periphery because there are no known written sources of the time describing bowl making. However, the high level of bronze processing allows us to assume they could have been made anywhere with a larger concentration of finds. All bowls are made of tin bronze. Their forms are quite similar. They consist of a slightly thickened round base from which thinly forged sidewalls rise up to 5–6 cm, and an upper edge about 1 cm wide. The diameter of bowls is about 20 to 30 cm. These vessels could be either decorated or plain but their classification is based on the content of the interior engravings. The issue of datingAll known artefacts are dated from the second half of the 11th century to the 13th century when bowls were especially popular; they were no longer made after that. It remains dubious whether such bowls already existed in the first half of the 11th century. None of the vessels found so far has any year number allowing for further assumptions. The same can be said of signs suggesting any development. Therefore, the grouping and systematisation of these finds has so far been unsuccessful. Different explanations of the origins and function of bowlsThe origins of bowlmaking are usually related to monasteries where monks became the sole experts and keepers of the classical cultural heritage. Monasteries were probably responsible for iconographic samples while the bowls could be made by town craftsmen; merchants who distributed the ware were townspeople too. In the late 19th century, researchers interpreted these bowls in the context of sacred art, seeing them as either christening bowls or vessels for the collection of donations. The researcher Josepha Weitzmann-Fiedler related the origin of bowls to the ritual of confession and purification of the soul performed by nuns. No less popular is the hypothesis about the bowl as a decorative interior item. The form of the vessel was adaptable to polyfunctional use while the large numbers of finds demonstrate that it was a highly demanded good ending up in various social strata. The latest research emphasise the use of bowls for hand washing. IconographyThe complex iconography of inside engravings derived from both Greco-Roman mythology and Christianity endows bronze bowls with particular value. Winged youth was a common image and the so-called bowls of virtues and vices with Latin inscriptions are also often found. Insight into the local historiography Eastern Baltic bronze bowls became the focus of attention right after the finding of the so-called bowl of Otto the Great discovered in Viljandi (Estonia) in 1886. Jelgava painter and librarian Julius Döring made a drawing of the precious find and published it and historian Hermann von Bruiningk provided an analysis. At the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, art historian Wilhelm Neumann turned his attention to bronze bowls, stating that they had come from Western Germany between Aachen and Cologne. Archaeologist Tatjana Pāvele wrote about bronze bowls 50 years later. She concluded from a broader historical perspective that bronze bowls indicate that “active trading with Western Europe was going on in the 11th–13th century”.Bowls found in Latvia Bowls are largely held in the collections of the Riga History and Navigation Museum and the Latvian National History Museum; in addition, two fragments of bronze bowls from Latvia are in the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte Berlin. Riga is the place where the most impressive and luxurious bowls have been discovered – precious items imported from Europe, featuring high-quality execution of the vessel and its décor. These artefacts could have ended up in Riga in the late 12th or early 13th century when the most active contacts formed with the potential centres of their origin – Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Two bowls are thematically part of the so-called group of vices. The top-quality example features a crowned superbia image in the centre with five surrounding vices – IDOLA–TRIA (idolatry), INVI–DIA (hate, envy), ӿ IR–A ӿ (rage, revenge), LVXV–RIA (luxury) and LIB–IDO (lust). The second bowl can be interpreted as a modified and simplified version of the vices vessel, with the main image of a winged figure – angel – while the inscription has been lost. This piece can be said to exemplify an intermediary phase and was probably made at some workshop near Riga, considering the local craftsmen’s high level of skills. Among the most valuable pieces is a bowl rich in representational elements, featuring a rhythmical procession of knights; this vessel was taken out of Latvia in 1940. A thematically rare example is a bowl with a bird similar to a gryphon. Several bronze bowls have been discovered in Latvia in archaeological excavations: two were found in a burial ground in Liepenes (Krimulda) while one emerged from the Pūteļi graveyard (Turaida), placed at the foot of the deceased together with other valuable items. During restoration, a forged rosette consisting of about 1 mm large dots and lines was discovered on the bowl. Conclusions The total number of bronze bowls found in Latvia so far is eight to nine (some fragments are hard to define): five of them are engraved, four appear to lack engraving, although such a conclusion has emerged due to their fragmentary condition. The bowls are similar with regard to their form but they do not make up a homogenous group. Two bowls found in Riga stand out for their narrative message: the so-called superbia with surrounding vices and the procession of knights; both are thought to be imported. These items belong to high-quality pieces in the context of Latvia but also reflect characteristics typical of mass production. The next group consists of two bowls also found in Riga whose engravings reveal the transformations resulting from the long route of dissemination, pointing towards a peripheral origin. The last group is made up of bowls uncovered in archaeological excavations. It is noteworthy that all four bowls were discovered in the burial grounds of the Liv people near the River Gauja; no such finds have emerged so far in either Latvian or Lithuanian archaeological materials elsewhere.
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2015 m. birželio 9–13 d. Švedijoje, Geteborgo universitete, įvyko 13-asis Šiaurės Europos bronzos amžiaus simpoziumas (13th Nordic Bronze Age Symposium). Kas trejus metus (12-asis – Orhuse, 11-asis – Helsinkyje, 10-asis – Tronheime) organizuojamas renginys pastaraisiais metais išsiplėtė ir tapo viena ryškiausių Baltijos jūros regiono bronzos amžiaus tyrinėjimams skirtų konferencijų. Be to, šis simpoziumas tapo puikia moksline erdve vyraujančioms temoms, taikomiems metodams bei dabartinei archeologijos mokslo raidai palyginti.
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