A Wendelring-type wreath necklace

Impressive, broad wings with sharp edges characterise this unique ornament. They were obtained by unbuckling and long-drawn-out dismemberment of a brown rod, which was then fancifully twisted around its axis. The square ends decorated with point ornamentation create the original hook-shaped clasp. Together with an analogous but slightly smaller hoop, the necklace was excavated at the end of the 19th century from a peat bog. The find was interpreted as a hoard. The smaller piece fell into private hands shortly after its discovery, while the larger one was placed in the collection of the former Society of Antiquities (Towarzystwo Starożytności) in Szczecin. In 1944, it was transported with other valuable relics deep into Germany to protect it from looting and war damage. It returned to Szczecin in 2009 under the Polish-German exchange of old archaeological collections. The Dobropol hoop, dated to the Early Iron Age, i.e., the Hallstatt period D (approx. 600/550-450/400 BC), belongs to a group of magnificent necklaces found from Thuringia to the Danish islands, southern Sweden, and western Poland. Genetically, they originate from the Nordic cultural circle; in Denmark, they appeared as early as the 5th Bronze Age (c. 900-750 BC), from where they spread over time to other areas. These necklaces, described by some as masterpieces of Iron Age bronzing, arouse admiration and interest for their shape and their technological aspect. In fact, until 1964, little was known about how these unique ornaments were made. It was not until Arthur Pietzsch's elaborate experiments that many of the related questions were answered.

Dorota Kozłowska