A landscape without treasures? East Bohemia in the Hallstatt period from the perspective of hoards

Abstract

The beginning of the Early Iron Age is characterised by a considerable decrease in evidence of the deposition of hoards of metal artefacts in many parts of Central Europe. This phenomenon is usually explained as a result of the social and ideological changes that were taking place in the territory of the newly forming Hallstatt culture. Until recently, east Bohemia was believed to be one of the regions in which the custom of depositing metal hoards was completely abandoned. However, newly obtained data show the opposite. In east Bohemia, we currently have evidence of five such assemblages. The article is primarily focused on the culture-chronological evaluation of the contents of these hoards. However, issues related to their find circumstances, topography, and their relationship to the cultural landscape are also discussed. Selected results are subsequently compared on a basic level in the broader Central European context. While some of the east Bohemian hoards date to Ha D, it cannot be ruled out that the deposition of others may have already occurred during Ha C. Compared to the surrounding areas with evidence of the deposition of hoards, the higher frequency of hoards composed of iron tools and/or weapons is a striking phenomenon. It is not yet clear whether its causes are to be sought in methodological, chronological or rather cultural-geographical aspects. Some of the individual artefacts from the hoards illustrate long-distance contacts and show that east Bohemia was involved in a wide network of links with areas to the west, east, and north. The repeatedly observed deposition of hoards on the boundaries of the settled areas is probably related to the symbolic aspects of territoriality of the Early Iron Age communities.