On a fragment of a ceramic beaked flagon from the Late Hallstatt to Early La Tène settlement in Tuněchody (okr. Chrudim) in Eastern Bohemia

Abstract

On a fragment of a ceramic beaked flagon from the Late Hallstatt to Early La Tène settlement in Tuněchody (okr. Chrudim) in Eastern Bohemia

This paper presents the assessment of the unique find of a fragment (spout) of a ceramic beaked flagon, which was discovered during a rescue excavation of a multi-cultural site in the clay pit of a modern brick-kiln on the border between the cadastral areas of Úhřetice and Tuněchody in eastern Bohemia in 2008. The stylistic analysis of the shape of the artefact shows that this find is much closer to the original bronze beaked flagons than to their ceramic imitations. The characteristic features of the spout and especially its narrow ridge indicate a certain relationship to the bronze beaked flagons of Celtic origin (Dürrnberg, Glauberg) rather than to the Etruscan, i. e. Italic ones. The results of a geochemical analysis of the ceramic material allow to consider its Bohemian provenance. This fragment can thus be understood as an indirect evidence of the knowledge of real bronze Celtic models in the Bohemian milieu.