THE CULT AREA (ZOLNIK) FROM A SCYTHIAN HILLFORT IN CHOTYNIEC NEAR RADYMNO (SOUTHEASTERN POLAND) IN THE CONTEXT OF RADIOCARBON DATING

Abstract

A zolnik excavated in 2016–2018 at the hillfort identified as the Scythian cultural circle in Chotyniec (southeastern Poland, 8 km west of the current Poland–Ukraine border) provided a very large quantity of archaeological sources and organic materials. From the latter, 17 samples coming from different horizons were selected for dating and were used to build a chronological model of functioning of the zolnik. Absolute dating is particularly important because the discovered artifacts (especially the most common handmade ceramics) do not show large chronological diversity. The use of the zolnik was estimated at 250–300 years, i.e. between 7th/6th and 4th/3rd century BC. Stratigraphic observations and good references of absolute chronology based on artifacts, including imported Greek ceramics, first in this part of Central Europe, proved to be significant. Older radiocarbon dates correspond to typological dating of Greek amphoras (7th/6th–6th century BC).

Western frontier of the Archaic Scythia: typo-chronology vs radiocarbon dating

“…The absolute chronology of Chotyniec is based on 18 radiocarbon dates obtained in the Laboratory of Absolute Dating in Skała and Cracow, Poland for the ash-hill (Czopek 2021;Czopek and Krąpiec, 2020). This set includes three AMS and 15 largely overlapping conventional radiocarbon dates made from charred wood samples (Fig.…”

Koniec „łużyckiego świata”

“…Rozpoznanie wielkiego grodziska w Chotyńcu z całym zapleczem regionalnym otworzyło nowe możliwości interpretacyjne także dla wschodniołużyckiego świata (Trybała-Zawiślak 2019, 264-311;. Trzeba zaznaczyć, że badania "chotynieckie" ciągle trwają, a systematycznie publikowane są kolejne źródła i ich interpretacje (Czopek 2019;Czopek, Krąpiec 2020;Czopek et al 2021;Burghardt 2020;. Obecność tak ważnego ośrodka, nie tylko osadniczego, ale zapewne też administracyjnego i obrzędowego, wyjaśnia znaczące nagromadzenie w całej wschodniej strefie "łużyckiej" zabytków tzw.…”

On the synchronization of the chronology of phenomena and artifacts

“…They relate to various Early Iron Age complexes and cultural groups in south-eastern Poland (Trybała-Zawiślak 2019, 143-158). For the hillfort in Chotyniec, we currently have 17 such dates from the zolnik area, which make up a sequence from the 8 th /9 th to the 4 th /5 th centuries (Czopek and Krąpiec 2020). The oldest of them correspond to the period before the founding of the zolnik, which took place in its first phase, i.e.…”

“…It also allows us to study the cultural input of the phenomena of Eastern European origin on the areas to the west. Two recent works (Czopek 2020;Trybała-Zawiślak 2020) clearly show its role as a centre from which the impulses referred to as the "scythization" of local Early Iron Age groups might have spread. This is also admitted by Denys Grechko (2020b, 598), but he clearly suggests that this process (probably lasting at least from the end of the 7 th century) preceded the military actions of the Scythians in Central Europe.…”