Ein bronzener Brillenspiralanhänger von der Insel Aegna (Estland)

Überlegungen zur Herkunft, Herstellung und zur Insel als Deponierungsort

Abstract

A Bronze Spectacle-Spiral Pendant from the Island of Aegna (Estonia). Thoughts on its Origins, Production and the Island as a Place of Deposition

The focus of these considerations is a new find of a bronze spectacle-spiral pendant from the island of Aegna in the Bay of Tallinn (Estonia). We discuss questions about the origins of the spectacle spirals and their possible depositional context (pre-Roman Iron Age, grave-find?), their archaeological-typological and semiotic relations within the Baltic Sea region and beyond. With regard to the long chronological tradition and geographically broad distribution of spectacle spirals, the supposed head ornament (female costume) displays unique features, i. e. its striking shape with spikes or tutuli. Archaeotechnological observations into this type of bronze ornament and its workmanship, combined with the composition of its alloy (tin bronze, lacking any zinc), provide further information on the origins and relative chronology. The spectacle-spiral pendant and further new finds (spiral ornaments) call attention to the hitherto underestimated, cultural-geographical importance of the island as a place of deposition in the pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age.