This thesis draws together more than 1,800 deposits of late Roman precious metals, namely coins, plate, jewellery, and bullion items, over a 500 year period (c. AD200- 700). Deposits from both West and East of the Empire, and beyond the frontiers, are included. Comparisons between these finds are made by focusing on three main aspects: spatial distribution, size, and date range of items within finds, by dividing the material into 22 deposition phases. A methodology has been developed allowing the size of each find to be compared, regardless of its internal structure and precious metal content (i.e. gold or silver), by assigning each find an Equivalent Gold Weight. Hence it is made possible to compare, for instance, a deposit of base metal silver coinage with a deposit of church silver plate, at least in terms of size, which previously has not been attempted. Past approaches to the interpretation and presentation of these finds are examined, with the aim of this research being to move away from traditional foci of study, namely the internal structure of hoards, epigraphy and iconography, and towards producing a background picture on a far broader level, chronologically and spatially. The deposition phases are surveyed in isolation, and then compared: changes in the focus of deposition activity are thus highlighted. The value of the approach adopted by this study with regard to our understanding of late Roman precious metal deposition is tested by comparing the recent late Roman find from Patching, West Sussex, with the database. Previous theoretical interpretations of hoard deposition are examined in the light of this body of evidence, for example, the question of the relationship between hoarding and social unrest, and the evidence for social traditions of deposition and ritual use of material in different areas within the study region. Finally, other areas of potentially productive future research, in addition to the themes explored in the previous chapters, are discussed.

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No / This paper explores the interpretation of the deposition of artefacts in Ireland from c. 2500 to c. 800 bc, combining a contextual analysis with post-processual ideas about materiality, artefacts, and their biographies. Hoards, single and burial finds are shown to be complementary strands of the depositional record and the result of deliberate deposition. It is argued that both the symbolic value of these items as well as economic and practical rationales determine the depositional mode. The paper attempts to infer social practices and rules that determined the differential treatment of materials and object types. The main structuring factor in the depositional record is the type-specific meanings of individual artefacts, which embody social identities beyond the utilitarian function of the object. The act of deposition facilitates and legitimates the literal and symbolic transformation of artefacts and the concepts they embody. The need for a separation between ritual and profane interpretation is removed, as deposition is understood as the reflection of prehistoric concepts rather than labelled according to modern notions of functionality. It is also argued that both dry and wet places are meaningful contexts and that different forms of wet landscapes were conceptualised differently.

In the mid-10th century the import of dirhems from Eastern Europe came to an end. From being a steady flow of Islamic coins from Viking-Age Russia the focus shifted to western European coins such as German and English. Most studies on Viking Age coins and hoards in general have focused on determine the individual coin type and the composition of the hoard in whole. Others have focused on the more social aspects on why the hoards even exist. My study will investigate if it is possible to detect if there are different networks behind the import of coins by analysing the composition of hoards in the transitional phase. By using a correspondence analysis and also GIS analysis, I want to investigate differences and similarities in the hoards composition. The correspondence analysis will show if there are any affiliations between different variables, which a means recurring pattern or combination of data represented in the hoards such as mints, size, TPQ and find distribution on Gotland etc. These presence or absence of affiliations will then be discussed if they could indicate different networks operating the coin import. The material the study is based on are 10th century hoards from Gotland which contain coins from late Islamic dynasties, Germany, England and the Byzantine empire. The result shows no specific indications in the hoards composition on different networks or groups that imported different kinds of coins. There is however a chance that different local groups have imported the same type of coins. The correspondence analysis also clearly visualizes the shift from the import of Islamic dirhams to Western coins.

Darbe nagrinėjama Panevėžio krašto pinigų cirkuliacija XVI – XVIII a. numizmatikos duomenimis. Tyrimo objektas yra monetos, atrastos Panevėžio krašto lobiuose ir senkapiuose. Tyrimo tikslui pasiekti išsikeltas uždavinys – iš surinktų monetų duomenų sudaryti kuo platesnę ir išsamesnę statistinę bazę. Remiantis sudaryta duomenų baze bandoma įvairiais aspektais apžvelgti aptariamajam kraštui būdingas apyvartines tendencijas. Darbo dėstyme pateikiamos monetų lobių ir senkapių radimvietės. Abiejų duomenų bazių turinys atskirai apžvelgiamas pagal nominalus, kaldinimo vietą ir devynis chronologinius etapus. Paskutiniame skyriuje lobių ir senkapių monetų duomenys koreliuojami. Taip bandoma pastebėti naujas apyvartines tendencijas, kurios neišryškėja duomenis tiriant atskirai. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad pagal nominalą tiek lobiuose, tiek senkapiuose didžiausią kiekį monetų aptariamajame krašte sudaro šilingai. Pagal kaldinimo vietą daugiausia rasta Rygoje kaldintų monetų. Didžiausią jų dalį sudaro Zigmanto Vazos Rygos šilingai. Analizuojant duomenis pagal chronologinius etapus, pastebima, kad lobių monetų duomenys teikia išsamesnę informaciją nei senkapių. Dėl gausaus monetų kiekio ir jų įvairovės XVII a. pirmosios pusės ir XVIII a. pirmosios pusės etapų apyvartinės tendencijos gali būti vertinamos objektyviausiai ir išsamiausiai. / The study examines circulation of money in Panevėžys region from 16th – 18th c. based on numismatic data. Coins discovered in hoards and old burials are the object of this research. In order to achieve the aim of this study the following task was raised - to create a database as broad and informative as possible. On the basis of the received database, characteristic circulation tendencies of Panevėžys region were examined from various aspects. Money hoards’ and old burials’ original locations are presented to display sources of numismatic data. The contents of both databases are examined separately: firstly by denomination, then by minting place. After these sections numismatic databases are divided into nine chronological periods. In the last section, content of coins found in hoards and old burials was correlated. This was done to perceive new and unseen tendencies which could not have been unveiled by examining data separately. The results of the study show that in both, money hoards and old burials, shillings were the most common denomination in Panevėžys’ region. Hence, at that period shillings played the main role in Panevėžys’ region's money circulation. The biggest number of coins was minted in Riga from which the most were minted under the reign of Sigismund III Vasa. By analyzing the data which was divided into chronological periods, it can be seen that coins from hoards are able to provide comprehensive information while coins from old burials give more specific... [to full text]

This PhD research has furnished the occasion to update the outdated works about Late Roman coinage focusing especially on a topic not so commonly examined like the Late Roman silver coinage. More precisely, it is analysed and discussed some of its more intriguing aspects. First of all how silver, as metal, was considered and perceived in Late Roman society and, therefore, why during fifth century AD silver bullion was used to produce fine silver objects rather than coins. Two different Late Roman customs concerning silver coinage are then reviewed: hoarding, with a list of most recent findings, and clipping. Finally a chapter is dedicated to the metrology and fineness of Late Roman silver coins together with an accurate analysis of the 7 different denominations. This extensive and deep discussion about Late Roman silver coinage's main problematics is completed by the most recent and updated catalogue of all the Late Roman silver denominations known so far. Such a review has given not only the possibility of updating or modifying some of the previous theories but also the opportunity to suggest some new ideas. --------------------------------------- Podrobně jsou zkoumány některé konkrétní zásadsní otázky, především jakým způsobem bylo v pozdně římské společnosti vnímáno stříbro jako kov a proč tedy...

The dissertation deals with the archaeological context of Baltic-zone silver hoards deposited in the Viking Age. Its main objective is to investigate the hoards and the context of their deposition to determine how hundreds of thousands of silver artefacts, mainly Oriental dirhams, arrived in Northern Europe, why they were put in the ground and never retrieved. The review of the published sources on hoards was undertaken in three case studies: Gotland, Pomerania and Svealand. The data on hoards, archaeological sites, geology and topography was collected in geodatabases, and analysed in detail by applying descriptive and advanced statistical methods: regression modelling and GIS-based spatial analysis. The results were presented in the historical context depicted in contemporary literary sources. Hoard deposition was most pronounced near sites which afforded conditions suitable for mercantile exchange and facilitated the flow of silver: the network of emporia, regional trade hubs, local power centres, and harbours, generally situated near major communication routes and within populated areas. However, exchange networks needn't have been strictly hierarchical, and emporium-scale sites were not indispensable for a fair share of silver influx, and trade, to occur. Chronological changes in hoard distributions, their composition and fragmentation of objects indicate how these networks operated and meshed with economic and political conditions in c. 900 and c. 980. A method, which uses the information about the presence/absence of a container, crossreferenced with the weight of silver, was devised to provide an indication as to whether particular hoards were deposited with the aim of retrieval - as savings accessed periodically, or for protection in the face of danger - or whether they were meant to be permanent ritual or symbolic offerings. Ritual behaviour took a variety of forms, but the most widespread were the depositions in recently occupied land in marginal soils, where they were aimed at forging a personal bond between the land and the owner.

The thesis deals with the Early and Middle Bronze Age in Kolin and Poděbrady region. The main part is a catalog of findings that is included in the end. These data served for making the special maps of Únětice and Barrows culture in chosen region. The second part of my diploma is about fortified site Velim-Skalka. The first part of this chapterl is devoted to the importance of this hill top settlements and second is about

This paper presents an interpretation of an archaeological problem where Viking age treasure hoards on Gotland are discussed in relation to the provision of the morning gift in the medieval Guta law. There are around 700 treasure hoards found on Gotland and many of them contains what can be interpreted as female coded jewelry. In this essay Gender theory and the theory of performativity is used as a method to analyze treasure hoards with female coded jewelry and its purpose is to investigate jewelry in relation to gender. This study will take a closer look on eleven treasure hoards which have been selected based on jewelry identified as typically female. This might indicate that women were the ones who deposited their jewelry in the ground. The Guta law narrates women's political and social situation in the medieval society and it is possible that it can tell us about some social practices in the Viking society. This law is a great source to recount women’s rights and obligations when it comes to marriage and heritage. The law contains a provision about hogsl oc iþ which is interpreted to be the morning gift. The morning gift intended that a husband was to give his new wife a gift in relation to their marriage. The law stated that a woman had the right to her morning gift which could suggest that women could control this property and have ownership over it. This study investigates what the mentioned medieval law dictated in regard to what a morning gift should constitute of and if this have any connection to what can be found in Viking age treasure hoards. This study is performed by analyzing treasure hoards with jewelry identified as typically female, as well as analyzing the Guta Law which allow one interpretation of why there are so many deposited treasures on Gotland. The interpretation which is presented in this study is that women had ownership of their morning gift and they could have deposited it in the ground to protect themselves and their property.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the social role of women in the Viking Age on Gotland. The female jewellery articulated the Gotlandic identity on the island in the Viking Age, unlike the men's jewellery which expressed similarities with other places in Scandinavia. Therefore, the female jewellery can be seen as traces of an important cultural expression that distinguished the Gotlandic women from others. The understanding of which types of jewellery that are considered to be linked to the female gender during the Viking Age is based on a number of excavated graves. The jewellery in graves have been researched for a long time. However, there is another category that includes jewellery which have been neglected, namely hoards. Therefore, this thesis investigates female jewellery in graves to understand the composition of jewellery in hoards. The purpose of this is to interpret if the hoards can express a female gender identity, similar to the female gender identity in graves based on the composition of jewellery. This is realized through the use of performativity and embodiment theory. The similarities and the differences between the jewellery in graves and hoards are investigated through a correspondence analysis. The result show that the differences between the composition of jewellery in graves and hoards are meaningful. The graves consists of a more complete set of jewellery made of bronze, whereas the hoards are interpreted to consist of parts of a complete set or a larger number of the same type of jewellery. The hoards also contain more jewellery made of precious metals than the graves. The hoards are intrepreted as savings of vaiable jewellery that could be resumed and used again by women. The Guta Law is applied in this thesis to contribute to the understanding of who owned the jewellery that women wore. The result is that women did not own the jewellry individually. Instead it was owned collectively by the family but that women might have had the responsebility of the jewellery during their lifetime. It is interpreted that women, through the use of Gotlandic jewellery, had the social role in society to show off the family wealth and their Gotlandic identity. Therefore, it is argued that women played a crucial part in public gatherings and had an active role in the Gotlandic society in the Viking Age.