Zoomorphic vessel

The vase is a very unique item in the collection of the vessels from the Roman period in the National Museum in Szczecin. The Lower Oder region, where the Cedynia settlement is located and where the vessel comes from, was occupied by communities that modelled their pottery mainly on products from the Elbe region. Its bi-conical form is distinctive for pottery of the Przeworsk culture, which inhabited the area of today’s Greater Poland. Also, the technical features of the vase, i.e., a combination of black colour with burnished surface and decoration in the form of a horizontal strip of swastikas, are consistent with the Przeworsk culture’s standards. Particularly noteworthy are the horizontal slats ended with volutes, located in the upper part of the vessel. This decorative element is very rare in the Odra region, but typical for the Elbe region. The presented vessel is a very good example of the cultural syncretism of the Lower Oder region community during the Roman period. This area was located at the junctions of three major cultures: the mentioned Przeworsk culture from Greater Poland, the Wielbarsk culture in Western Pomerania, and the so-called Elbe Germanic culture, west of the Oder. Intense influences from these three directions have resulted in the formation of smaller local cultural groups of mixed character in the Lower Oder region. The settlement in Cedynia is associated with the people from Lubusz/Czelin groups.

Bartłomiej Rogalski