Tortoiseshell buckle

The bronze fibula, known also as brooch, was found on the cemetery in the town of Borkowice in Koszalin poviat. Together with an antler comb it belonged to an assemblage of grave goods from an inhumation grave, discovered in 1892 during sand extraction. In total seven inhumation graves were found in that location. Some of them contained stone structures, but it is not known if they were the stone settings. During the surface survey of the cemetery some individual elements of the grave furnishings were found, including a Roman glass beaker. Part of the finds landed in the Koszalin museum; others were transferred to the collection of the Szczecin museum. The presented fibula should be associated with the people from the Dębczyno group and dated to the late Roman period, i.e., the 2nd half of the 3rd century. The cemeteries of the communities from this group, associated by some researchers with the Lemovii and Rugii tribes named by the Roman historian Tacitus, usually contained about 50 inhumation graves. Next to the skeletons, the archaeologists found pottery and clothing accessories, such as the fibulae. The necropolis were usually located close to the settlements.

Monika Witek