„Vergoldete Frauen“ – Anmerkungen zu Zierplättchen aus Edelmetallen in der Vekerzug-Kultur

Abstract

This study deals with the findings of appliqués made of precious metals from the sites of the Vekerzug culture in Eastern Hungary and Southwestern Slovakia. Except for one hoard, the appliqués come from ten graves. Providing a more complex overview of these findings was at the center of our interest, focusing mainly on cultural and spatial analysis, their possible relation to specific gender or age categories of the burial individuals, and the importance of the appliqués for the costumes of the Vekerzug culture. All of their variants are unique to the Vekerzug culture and have no analogies in the neighboring regions, including the East European steppes and forest-steppes. Most of the appliqués in the Vekerzug culture are dated to the Late Hallstatt period or the Early La Tène period. The appliqués were found in the graves of adult females. Their costumes do not differ from the female costumes of the Vekerzug culture without appliqués. Most of the appliqués were found in richly furnished female graves, some of which are among the richest in the Vekerzug culture. Additionally, other objects made of precious metals in the Vekerzug culture, such as head ornaments and beads, were almost exclusively reserved for women.