The Rosko Hoard – a Road Sign? Research and its Perspectives: Mass Deposition of Metal Objects, Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Poland

Abstract

Abstract The phenomenon of depositing various types of goods was practiced in Europe across the annals of all time. Known from the Bronze Age and in some regions of the continent, also from the Early Iron Age, metal object hoards are one of the most spectacular and easiest for identification as well as the most often recorded and analyzed illustration of this phenomenon. In being a specific category of archaeological finds in many respects – as far as the meaning of these practices in the culture of prehistoric communities, as well as the circumstances of their discovery – they were for many decades investigated in a particular way. In this context, unusually high emphasis was placed on typological analysis and the dominant forms of research were regional monographs. The resulting impasse of using limited data for the purposes of argumentation in favour of one of the hypotheses (sacral or profane) was underscored in the literature many a time. Both the development of archaeology and the significant growth of the number of newly discovered metal artefact assemblages, leads one to considerations over the appropriate means for conducting research on these enigmatic finds. The past few years have brought a series of new research propositions in respect to the means of investigating and interpreting this very phenomenon. The hoard from Rosko one could argue is not only worth exemplification on account of the significant research information it brings, but also as a means of indicating how research on hoards may be conducted.