A metal hoard from Susz provides new evidence for the use of bast cordage during the Lusatian period in Poland

Abstract

Archaeological textiles and cordage from the 1st millennium BCE in Poland are relatively scarce. The majority of the available evidence has been preserved in a mineralised state or as imprints in association with metal and clay objects. Recently, the numerous remains of a bast cordage were identified among the metal artefacts from a Late Bronze Age metal hoard from Susz in north-eastern Poland, which has provided robust evidence for bast cordage production and use during that period. This paper presents and discusses the results of the technological and fibre identifications of the Susz cordage aided by archaeometallurgical and radiocarbon evidence to add more details to the biography of the hoard and place it more firmly within the context of the North European Bronze Age.