AV 65, 2014: Paul GLEIRSCHER

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 65, 2014

Paul GLEIRSCHER

Ein ältereisenzeitliches Gehänge aus Frojach bei Rosegg (Kärnten)
Zur Entwicklung anthropomorpher Gehänge beidseits der Alpen von der Spätbronzezeit bis in die jüngere Eisenzeit
[An Early Iron Age pendant from Frojach near Rosegg (Carinthia)]

Abstract

Several archaeological finds were noted on the banks of the Drava River in Frojach near Rosegg, including a pendant from the Early Iron Age. It shows similarities to Late Bronze Age pendants from north (Straubing type) and south (Peschiera type) of the Alps, as well as to Early Iron Age pendants from the Piedmont region and eastern France (Réallon type). They furthermore show relations to Etruscan pendants of the Bisenzio type. Ten pendants of the Unec type have been found within the area of the paleo-Venetic culture of Este and in the southeastern Alpine region. Like the similar Bronze Age pendants, they come from female graves. The symbolism of pendants of the Unec type is connected with the well-known motif of a “Vogelsonnenbarke”[sun ship with bird heads] as well as with the anthropomorphic depiction of numina at the beginning of the Iron Age in central and northern Italy and the neighboring Alpine area. Pendants of the Unec type are primarily connected with high-ranking female graves, as are keys, representing the graves of priestesses for a goddess of “the mistress of the animals” type, perhaps similar to Artemis? Similar pendants from the circum-Alpine area, which can be found in the Tyrol among the Raetians in an Early La Tène context, seem to confirm this interpretation.

Keywords: Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, southeastern Alpine area, Frojach/Broje bei Rosegg/Rožek, pendants, motif of the Vogelsonnenbarke, anthropomorphic motifs, female graves with keys, symbol of a female goddess, “mistress of the animals” (Artemis)

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