Fibulae from the Migration Period in the Vinkovci Area

U radu se obrađuju četiri fibule iz vremena seobe naroda otkrivene 2011. godine. Tipološko-stilskom analizom i usporedbom potvrdit će se njihov ranosrednjovjekovni karakter. Ujedno će se predstaviti i stariji, objavljeni i poznati nalazi fibula iz razdoblja seobe naroda, u svrhu dobivanja cjelovitije slike vinkovačkog područja u 5. i 6. stoljeću.This work focuses on four new acquisitions in the mediaeval archaeological collection of the City Museum Vinkovci. It also reinterprets three already known fibulae from the Migration Period that were discovered in the surroundings of Vinkovci. All seven exemplars are surface finds discovered by chance and without an archaeological context, but originating from Roman sites. 1. Cast bronze bow fibula, whole, missing the pin. At the semi-circular somewhat triangular head it has two preserved decorative knobs, while the third one is missing. The arc is short and slightly raised. The foot is elongated, rhomboid and has a bud-shaped profile at the end. The fibula is smooth with no ornamentation. At the back, the holder of the axle and the axle of a spiral fastening mechanism are preserved. The catchplate is also preserved. East Germanic fibula from the 5th to 6th century. Surroundings of Nuštar (T. 1.3.) 2. Head and part of the arch of a cast silver bow fibula, with partially preserved gilding. A single, but entirely preserved knob is preserved at the semi-circular head, while the central part is slightly damaged above the base. Only the beginning (short) of the arch with a rib in the middle is preserved. The head is decorated in the notching technique with two oppositely placed spiral tendrils and a triangle between them. Part of the holder of the spiral fastening mechanism is preserved on the flat and smooth back. Gepidic fibula, late 5th and early 6th century. Surroundings of Mrzović. (T. 1.1.) 3. Head and part of the arch of a cast silver bow fibula. There are five decorative knobs at the semi-circular head. Only the beginning (short) of the arch with a rib in the middle is preserved. The rib is decorated with triangles that are placed opposite to each other and made in the niello technique. The head is decorated with notched semi-circles. At the beginning of the arch is a bezel setting for the (lost) almandine. On the flat and smooth back are preserved the axle holder, part of the axle, three coils and part of the chord. Gepidic fibula, 6th century. Surroundings of Tordinci. (T.1.2.) 4. Part of a cast bow fibula, made of bronze and silver alloy. The straight foot ends in a curved shape with a schematized image of a face. Further, there is a semicircular expansion in shape of a lyre on both sides, on the plate of the foot are two pairs of symmetrical bird protomes. The decoration is straight-lined. The fibula belongs to type Werner I-C. Slavic fibula, 6th -7th century Surroundings of Ostrovo. (T. 1.4.) The first fibula is a simple undecorated bronze fibula with a rhomboid foot, a type worn by Eastern Germanic people. These fibulae represent, so to speak, a transitional form between bow fibulae, made of embossed sheet, and cast bow fibulae that are decorated in the notching technique. Such fibulae from other sites are mostly dated to the 5th century. Our exemplar could be associated with the battle between Gepids and Ostrogoths on their way to Italy in the Vuka swampland in 489 AD. It is therefore dated to time at the turn of the 6th century. Fragments of the gilded silver fibula (nose cat. no. 2) on most sites date to the 6th century. Gilded fibulae decorated with spiral decorations in the notching technique with three or five knobs are common finds in the areas stretching from the Crimea, the Dnieper and Danube river basins to Italy. In this regard, we speak of a type of fibula that is present in an extensive area and spans over a relatively long period of time. As this fibula has no foot which would allow a more precise dating, we must tentatively date it into the first half of the 6th century for now. There were no direct analogies for the third fibula in available literature. However, it is certainly a Germanic fibula from the first half of the 6th century. The fourth fibula belongs to Slavic heritage and its type of foot is dated to the turn of the 7th century. The review of earlier published finds starts with the S-shaped fibula from the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. J. Werner named this type Varpalota 34/ Vinkovci (Pannonian-Lombardic type) and dated it to the first half of the 6th century. According to recent and more precise research it belongs to the north-Danubian-Pannonian transition phase that covered the period from 540 to 560 AD. The current stage of research reveals that Lombards did not remain in Cibalae for a longer period of time. If we accept the thesis that the development of S-fibulae took place independently of the Lombards, respectively that they took over this type of fibula as their favourite one, than we can say that so far there is no evidence of Lombard domination in the Vinkovci area. Further, we have the fibula (T. 1.5.) that Z. Vinski published first and was later published several times. It is a cast bronze fibula. On the semi-circular head are three double-profiled knobs. The arch is short and slightly raised and has a thin rib in the middle. The foot is elongated, deltoid and has a profile without decoration at the end of the foot. It is decorated with simple notched ornamentation in shape of one semi-circle at the head and three lines at the foot. Part of the axle holder of the spiral fastening mechanism as well as the catch-plate are preserved on the smooth back. Vinski already stated that this fibula does not have an analogy- the reason for this is its pretty bad and partially false drawing that was also later reproduced. Namely, such silver fibulae were discovered at site Magyartés and dated to the time between 530 and 568 AD. A similar one was found in Bökeny – Mindszent. Although this type of fibula is not common, it can be linked to the presence of Gepids in Vinkovci and fits, along with other simpler forms of Gepidic jewellery and functional parts of clothes, into the known picture of Cibalae in the first half of the 6th century. The last publication refers to the cicada-shaped appliqué that in fact is not a fibula, but can be associated with this time horizon. It is 30 mm long and 5 mm thick, its maximum width is 15, 3 mm. The body of the cicada is emphasized by shallow cuts, whereas the head is divided from the body by a deeper line. The wings are small and slightly spread, the head features many details. On the back is a preserved bulge by which the appliqué was attached to the material. It is a chance find and in private property. Without archaeological context, i.e. the circumstances of the discovery, it is more difficult to attribute it. Nevertheless, based on the analysis of style and type, it can be dated to the late 4th or early 5th century. The person wearing it, either a Roman or, more likely, a barbarian- mercenary in the Roman Army, was certainly familiar with its meaning and used it as an amulet in these uncertain times. While writing this work, we became aware of another fibula from the Migration Period. It is a silver cicada-shaped fibula from the surroundings of Nuštar, which is provided here only with a picture. A series of new finds of fibulae from the Migration Period in the Vinkovci area speaks for the continuity of life in the area of the Cibalae ager even after the collapse of the organized Roman rule. The recently discovered fibulae are related to the area north of Vinkovci, precisely to the area along the Vuka River, i.e. the branch of the Roman road leading from Mursa (Osijek) through Bobota, Pačetin and Nuštar to Cibalae (Vinkovci). The area along the Vuka River (Ulca) is noted in ancient sources as the setting of the battle between the Gepids and Ostrogoths in February 489 AD, despite the fact that the location of this battle could not be exactly located so far. In any case, these new finds indicate to a continuity of life in this region at the end of the 5th and in the first half of the 6th century, and, complemented with earlier finds, open new opportunities for research